Autumn Returns
by Why.So.Serious96
Summary: After the death of Grace Night's parents she returns to Haggard where a new chapter in her life begins. Familiar faces from her past are brought back to her attention and the truth about her parents' death is uncovered after a shocking discovery.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Grace Night is my original character everyone else in the plot belongs to Derek Landy.

* * *

**Please if you like my story, review and write your opinion. If you don't like it please don't flame, it's a new story for me and I would rather you wouldn't be rude about it.**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter one **

It all happened rather quickly, Grace Night was her given name. Her mother and father died when she were young; thankfully she didn't remember much about them so the grieving process didn't last for very long. The strange thing was, Grace remembered more about their tailor than she did of her own parents, she did have reason to though. The man was covered in these horrific scars; he was strong and had a broad frame, but the scars in her opinion, were more beautiful than ugly.

Grace was eighteen years old; her amber red hair fell in subtle waves to the centre of her back, her eyes were sapphire blue and she was an average height but had a strong slim frame. For years she trained in combat and defensive arts, she always felt like something important had to be done with her life – it was the main reason she kept herself busy, she even took up free running. The adrenaline made her feel alive, leaping across buildings doing front slips and dives; it was freeing, satisfying.

Returning to Ireland was odd, Dublin seemed to be the same but most of her memories of the city were repressed, kept in the deepest darkest corner of her mind. Her parent's wrote a will a couple of years before they died, leaving her a considerable amount of money. For the past twelve years she lived in London with her adoptive family, they were lovely people but she never felt like she belonged with them and that was the reason why she returned back to Dublin. To try and find out where she did belong.

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Grace settled into her new apartment in Haggard quite quickly, unpacking little things to make her feel more at home; photos and ornaments; that kind of stuff. The sky soon turned black and she was plunged into darkness, night time couldn't have come sooner as all she wanted to do was rest her aching body. With the journey over here and then having to haul all her furniture into her new home by herself, her energy was pretty much at rock bottom. The eighteen year old walked into her new bedroom, her thick cream carpet pressing between her toes, tickling her feet. As she climbed into bed she turned to switch off the lamp on the table beside her, a small book catching her attention. It was her mother's diary; she hadn't seen this in years. Grace always restrained from reading the hand written book, to be honest it terrified her and the fear of finding something that will cause a heart-warming memory of her childhood scared her, she didn't want to remember them. It would be too hard.

* * *

The morning sun illuminated her bedroom, bouncing off her large mirror on the opposite wall from the large window. Grace felt strange this morning, a tingling sensation could be felt in her finger tips and her head felt lighter than usual, as if she had just been hit in the face with a handful of feathers. She sighed, twisting herself to let her feet dangle a few inches above the floor; today was the day she would let herself loose in the familiar city. Perhaps she would see a friendly face or meet some new people willing to have a friendship with her. Though she wasn't too fussed about the friendship part, meeting new people would be a big enough step for her.

After she showered she changed into some skinny jeans and a thick burgundy jumper, it was autumn now and a slight breeze would cause you to shiver. Autumn however was her favourite season, the bursts of different shades of oranges and reds pleased the eye and the sound of crackling underneath your feet could be heard whenever a person stepped on a fallen leaf, it was a pleasant time of the year in her opinion. Grace pulled on her comfy brown boots and her parka, preparing for the cold that would hit her like a slap in the face as soon as she stepped out of the door.

When she did step out however, she shuddered; the tingling sensation in her fingers spreading to her wrists. What was wrong with her? Perhaps she over worked herself yesterday, with all the heavy lifting. She wouldn't be surprised if she pulled a muscle or something. Oh well if she wasn't on the floor writhing in pain, she didn't particularly care.

On the way to the buzzing centre of Dublin, she took a wrong turn down a rather… run down street. It's strange how an empty street can make you feel, normally she would carry on with her head held high but this street, there was something too familiar about it and that was the main reason why her hands were stuffed deep into her jacket pockets, her head low. As she neared the end of the street her legs stopped moving, her body was frozen on the spot.

"That… Shop…." Her voice was a whisper as she gazed at an abandoned tailor's store. Something about it made her heart ache and suddenly she found herself crying, tears rolling down her pale cheeks. Grace wiped her eyes and clenched her fists, shaking off the unexpected feeling of sadness. "Pull yourself together…" she muttered, stuffing her hands back into her pockets and walking down the street, why the hell was she crying about an old empty shop? The world was in a recession and there were hundreds of stores closing all across the UK, so why on earth was she crying about that one? She put it down to hormones, perhaps the move was putting a little too much unwanted stress on her shoulders and that was the reason of the minor emotional break-down.

Grace wasn't far off when she noticed a man walking towards her, she presumed her was walking in the other direction to her but that was until he started talking to her like he knew her whole life story.

"Grace Night… Haven't you grown?" The man was tall, strong and a he had a deep scar across his right cheek.

"Excuse me…?" She looked at him with confusion and tried walking around him, she didn't want any trouble; she didn't even know who this guy was so how does he know her name? Her attempt to walk away failed as the man got more agitated, extending his hand to grab her wrist.

"You don't remember me?" His Irish accent was quite strong; it caused her a while to understand what he said.

"Well judging from my reaction… I would say no, I don't recognise you." Grace tried tugging her arm free but it only caused his grip to tighten. "I suggest you remove your hand."

"And what are you going to do? Are you gonna give me another scar?" The man practically spat his last few words. He wasn't happy, she knew that from the beginning but what did he mean by giving him another scar?

"Are you on drugs? What the hell are you talking about?" Grace was really starting to get uncomfortable. Did this psychopath know who she was?

"Don't pretend you don't remember! How could you forget you stupid cow!" The stranger pulled her towards him, twisting her so she would be pressed against a wall.

"Please… I don't know what you're talking about!?" Grace pleaded, gazing into his dark brown eyes.

"You know what, I'm just gonna kill ya like I killed your parents." A smug evil grin spread across his ugly face and all she wanted to do was punch him.

"What? You… You killed my parents?!" Now she was angry, who the hell was this guy? He couldn't possibly have killed her parent's; they died in a house fire. It was completely accidental even the fire service said so. "My parents died in a fire… they weren't murdered…"

The man laughed so much she thought the vein in his neck was going to burst. "You stupid, stupid child! That's what they wanted you to believe, they put thoughts into your head but I killed them and I was going to kill you too but you slashed my face with a kitchen knife." He paused wrapping his hand around her throat. "Oh I have dreamt of the day that I get to kill you. It is a shame though, you have grown into a…" He paused looking her up and down while gripping her throat tighter; "A beautiful woman."

That was it, she needed to get away and fast but she couldn't move. She just found out her parents were murdered, everything she taught herself, the martial arts it was like she forget it all. "Don't…. D-do this…" she managed to say before he pressed harder, the oxygen had stopped going into her lungs and her vision was darkening.

"Go on; scream like your mother did when I cut out her heart…" The killer removed a pocket knife, flipping it up as it caught the sun.

All of a sudden the tingling in her finger's shot through her like an electric shock, awakening a power she never knew she had. Grace managed to bring her hands up, wrapping her fingers around his wrist tightly. "That… Was the wrong thing to say…" Vivid blue flames covered her hands and arms, burning his skin causing him to leap back screaming.

"Impossible…" The man began to curse and she walked towards him, twisting her body to send a strong kick into his chest, causing him to fly backwards and throw a shop window.

"You pathetic waste of space… Obviously you didn't learn your lesson the first time!" She roared, stepping over the broken glass. Thankfully for her the shop was also abandoned, otherwise she would have a major issue on her hands.

"Please…. Don't kill me! I was just following orders! My boss, it was him he sent me!" Without any warning the man clicked his fingers summoning a ball of fire.

"Crap…" Grace jumped to the side, sliding across the floor before sitting up. A black mark singed the space where she just stood and her eyes narrowed. "This is ending now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Grace Night is my original character everyone else in the plot belongs to Derek Landy.

* * *

**Please if you like my story, review and write your opinion. If you don't like it please don't flame, it's a new story for me and I would rather you wouldn't be rude about it.**

**Enjoy! :)**

**Reviews: **

**Ignis Recreant:**I actually love you! Haha, thank you so much for reviewing! This chapter is for you since you liked my first one so much! I hope you enjoy this one too! Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D x

* * *

**Chapter two.**

The dust gathered around the two of them. The air was thick and musty; she presumed that the place hadn't been in working order for a couple of years as it was stripped down and the walls were covered in damp and mould. As Grace stood, she dusted off her jeans glancing over to the spot her parent's murderer stood; only to find out he had disappeared. "What… where is he hiding…?" she thought to herself, speaking nervously in her head. She knew this man would just report back to his boss that she was still alive, and then what would happen? Would she be hunted too? Assassinated just like her parents were? No she couldn't allow that to happen, her life was just beginning to fall into place and all of a sudden her arms could be covered with fire, and not just normal fire – blue fire! What the hell was going on?!

As she stepped out of her hiding spot, she did a 360 degree turn; scanning her surroundings for any men with a scar. Nothing, the guy was gone; he had abandoned the fight, left her alone without answering any of the questions that were currently swimming in her mind. Perhaps it was now the time to open her mother's diary, perchance she may find something, something to explain were this power had come from. Who exactly was she? Grace shook off that thought and walked to the broken store window, the glass crunching under her boots. She was asking herself the wrong question, the question she needed to ask herself was… Who were her parents?

Sirens in the distance brought her mind to the present; if she was found her then she could be in a lot of trouble. Would they really arrest her for standing in an empty shop? It's not like there's anything to steal, well apart from a few planks of wood and a bucket; which wasn't even worth stealing as it had a hole in it anyway. Grace stepped out the shop and onto the pavement, gazing down the street to see police cars driving towards her, and rather quickly too.

"Crap…" she muttered before sprinting down the street, her feet pounding the pavement as she escaped the scene she just created. All she needed was to do was disappear around the corner and her flat would be a few doors down. In curiosity she glanced over her shoulder, seeing a gleaming black car pull up onto the curb, a tall slim gentleman stepping out, gazing straight at her. In fear of being seen she pulled up the hood of her parka and darted around the corner and ran to her door, unlocking it quickly and slamming it behind her. "That could have gone better…"

Grace didn't bother to kick off her boots or remove her jacket; all she wanted to do was read this diary. If there was anything or any hint to what the hell happened to her today, it would be in there. She hoped. When she reached her bedroom she pushed the door open and her eyes locked onto the diary, it was still exactly where she left it. Perfect. Today was the day in twelve years that she would relive her past and her mother's, what would she have written in there. Would there be something about her murder, anything about the fire that didn't burn her. "This is crazy…" Grace sat on the floor, taking the brown leather bound book in her scuffed hands.

Slowly she took a deep breath and removed the tie that kept the book firmly shut. Everything will be fine; her day couldn't get much worse could it? After all she did just find out her parents were murdered. As she opened the first page a letter fell onto her lap, her name clearly written on the front of the envelope. Grace hesitated, laying the diary next to her as picked up the envelope, examining it briefly before opening it. It read.

_My darling Grace._

_If you are reading this then I and Julian have passed. I hope you aren't grieving; I would hate to see my little princess sad. There are things in this world that your mind couldn't possibly imagine. You're in grave danger sweetheart and if my friend did what I asked then I doubt you remember anything of what happened on the night you're father and I were killed. I would say I don't want you to worry, and that everything will be alright but I'm afraid I would be lying. You have probably experienced your first introduction to magic and if you haven't you will be soon. _

_Gracie there was something we never told you when you were a child, I was a sorcerer and so was your father. I was what people call an Elemental and your father, well he was an adept and I'm afraid I can't really talk about that much more but there is someone who can. A man named Ghastly Bespoke can help you, seek him out and he will explain everything. I hope you know that we love you and we will be watching over you every second of every day._

_I love you Gracie, Stay out of trouble._

_Lots of love._

_Your mother x_

Grace just gazed at the letter, fresh tears rolled down her pale cheeks. Everything she remembered about her parents was a lie, they didn't die in a fire, they weren't… Normal. This was crazy, who the hell was Ghastly Bespoke? What kind of name was Ghastly Bespoke? A sigh escaped her and she moved her shaky hand to grab her mother's diary, skipping to the last entry she wrote before she died. The hand writing was rushed and messy, the complete opposite to the previous pages which were smooth and elegant. That wasn't all; the entry was cut off midsentence which would suggest she was being attacked while she was writing. Grace couldn't imagine this anymore; this was far too much for her mind to take in one day.

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Grace sat there four hours, reading different entries on different dates. She even found one which her mother wrote on her birthday, her favourite line was.

_"Gracie loved her birthday, she had this huge party and Ghastly even made her a jacket. To my surprise she absolutely loved it; she didn't take it off all day."_

There he was again, first in the letter and now at her birthday too? Just how close was he to her parents? With that question she stood, gazing at the clock. She had been reading for three hours and the sun was setting, sending bursts of soft pinks and oranges across the horizon. In the dining room she had a large cupboard that was full of boxes she hadn't found the need to unpack, she remembered that one box hadn't been opened since she moved in with her adoptive parents so she believed that it was something to do with her childhood. Toys and photo's maybe. Grace walked to the dining room, rummaging around for about ten minutes before she found the box she was looking for; it was still sealed and the corners were crinkled and squashed.

"Now… What's hiding in here…" she muttered to herself, grabbing some scissors from the kitchen draw before walking back into the room and cutting the box open. Inside were small bears, drawings and paintings, toys and books. One bear caught her attention and as she picked it up to study it, a memory flashed through her mind. It was an image of her father handing it to her one day when she felt sick. Grace blinked a few times and looked at the bear, smiling sadly before placing it on the table beside her. As she looked back in the box again a small blue jacket was folded neatly at the bottom, hidden slightly under some books. Could this be the jacket her mother wrote about in her diary? Slowly she stuck her arm into the box, wrapping her hand around the jacket and pulling it out. It was small; she remembered that her mum said Ghastly gave it to on her 6th birthday. It was made from a strange material that she had never seen or felt before but she could see why she didn't want to take it off, it was adorable. A smile caressed her pretty face as she brought it close to her, hugging it slightly before her head began to throb.

Grace placed the jacket back on the table and pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut. It was probably a migraine, it had to be. Right? To try and ease the pain she walked to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water and grabbing a box of paracetamol. As she lifted the glass to her lips the pain hit her harder this time and she dropped the glass, letting it smash across her tiled floor. In pain she hunched over clutching her head. Memories shot through her mind, one after the other, filling her mind with events of her childhood that she thought she had lost forever. Her knees gave way and she stumbled onto the floor, landing on her back as she remembered who she was, who her parents were and who that man was who attacked her earlier on today. She remembered it all and most importantly she knew who Ghastly Bespoke was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Things you should know: **Grace Night is her given name, she hasn't taken one yet.

**Reviews:**

**LadyWolfGrace:** A new reviewer! WELCOME! :D Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like it. I was going to stop writing because I didn't have many reviews or followers but now here you are! :D YAY! :D Here's the next chapter, Hope you like it! :D

**Readers: If you like my story - Please follow or review it! I would really appreciate it! :)**

**Chapter three.**

The view of the ceiling was actually rather enlightening. There were markings and holes she hadn't noticed properly before and it made her think, she should probably look at a flat more closely next time before actually buying. Who knows she could find a dead cat or something under the floor boards. Grace rolled her eyes and sat up; the pain in her head was more of a gentle throb than a kick in the face. She sighed and slowly got to her feet and rubbed the back of her neck, when she fell she landed in the spilled water and broken glass which cut the back of her elbows – nothing to major but it still stung.

"Well… At least I know…" She whispered walking to the bathroom and switching on the shower. Everything she remembered when she was six was a lie, her mother had mentioned that she wouldn't remember what had happened on that horrific night, she didn't really know much about magic but she guessed it must have been the use of hypnosis or something strange like that. Grace held her hand under the showers spray and checked the temperature, making sure it wasn't scolding hot. After she undressed she stepped into the shower, pulling the blue stripy curtain across. She welcomed the water and took a deep breath, racking through her memories and putting them in the correct spaces.

* * *

_The death of her parent's was horrible, she remembered the burning building and hearing her parents screams echo into the kitchen. She was clutching a knife at the time and she hid in the cupboard; Grace saw him through a crack and she held her breath, tears rolling down her cheeks. She was terrified and her parent's had gone silent, even when she was six she knew exactly what that meant. They were dead and she would be too if she didn't fight back, Ghastly taught her a few things whenever she was at his shop – he would always pretend to be hurt when she hit him but she always knew he was doing it to make her feel good. She then remembered crawling out the cupboard; smoke was filling the house and fire made the shadows dance across the walls. She let out a cough and then she felt a hand on her shoulder; spinning her around to see the man covered in her parents blood, as a reflex her arm lashed out, slashing his face open with the knife. As he screamed she ran out the back door and tripped grazing her knee, calling out for her mum who would never come to her. Not anymore. She pushed the tears back and ran to the shed, shutting herself in and crouching in the corner, she could see the house now, the flames bursting through the windows and the doors causing the glass to shatter. In the distance she heard footsteps, a woman calling her name. At first she thought it was her mother but it couldn't possibly be, a pretty gentle faced woman with blonde hair stepped into the shed and knelt down to her level._

_"I'm not going to hurt you sweetie, I'm friends with your mummy…" Her accent was English and her eyes were the darkest green she has ever seen in her life. _

_"Please… Don't kill me..." Her voice broke and her body shook with fear. A comforting hand lifted Grace's head so her gaze would look into the woman's._

_"I'm sorry but I promised your mother I would do this… Gracie…"_

* * *

Grace opened her eyes and turned off the shower, she couldn't do it anymore. Her memories, they tormented her, caused her heart to break. She didn't want to relive that moment, it burned her insides with anger and sadness, fueled her rage. All she wanted to do was to find that murderous pig who killed her parents, and she would, that is a promise she made herself and to her parents. Steadily she stepped out the shower and wrapped a towel round herself, walking to her bedroom and sat on the end of her bed. She wondered if Ghastly remembered her or if he thought she died in the fire. Either way she would find him like her mother asked and seek out the information she needed.

She sat there for a few moments in silence, loosing herself in her own thoughts before she dried herself and putting on some clean jeans and another jumper. As she finished drying her hair, a heavy knocking could be heard from her from door. Gradually she made her way to her bedroom door, peering around the corner to see five shadows outside her front door.

"That's not good…" Swiftly she pulled on her boots and jacket and made for the back door, glancing over her shoulder to see the door flying off it's hinges. A squeal escaped her and she ran to the back door, opening it to see two muscular figures in grey attire standing there. She froze and backed away, her eyes gazing at them. They also wore metal helmets and had large scythes strapped firmly to their backs. "I… I haven't done anything wrong…" Grace froze when she bumped into something solid behind her; slowly she turned with fear in her eyes to see another one of the men in grey uniforms standing there. Before she could run for the stairs the thing had grabbed her forcing her to the floor, knocking the breath out of her. In defensive she raised her arms to her head, even though it would do nothing, the scythes would slice through her with no problems at all.

"Grace Night…" A smooth voice called out from behind… what seemed to be a guard. He stepped into view and she took in a sharp breath, gazing at him in complete and utter surprise. "You have raised quite the uproar."

Grace said nothing; the man who was talking shouldn't even be able to speak. He was a skeleton in a suit, a stylish fitted one at that but still… He was a skeleton. Beside the skeleton there was a girl with long dark hair, wearing black. "I… I haven't done anything wrong…" She turned her attention back to the skeleton and furrowed her brows, he seemed familiar. It was like the feeling she got when she remembered the name of something and it was on the tip of the tongue.

"Well that's not what we have heard." The female spoke, she couldn't have been any older than Grace was.

"Well… You obviously heard wrong." Grace narrowed her eyes and she felt the tingling sensation in her fingers again. "Uh oh…"

"Uh oh?" The skeleton tilted his head, she knew he would have raised an eyebrow is he actually had a face.

"I'm not… I have no control over this. It just happens…" She panicked, the sensation spreading to her arms. She tried her best to contain it but it was no use. Her arms sparked and blue flames spread from her fingers and up to her elbows. The guard raised it's scythe and she dodged it, kicking out her leg and flung it backward. She didn't know she was so strong…

The skeleton and the girl ran at her and Grace squealed and ran to the back door where the two guards still stood, when they saw her they removed their scythes and prepared for a fight. This was completely unfair, she wasn't doing this on purpose, she didn't want any trouble and yet it insisted on finding her ever other hour. Behind her she sensed a strong heat and she ducked under a fire ball, changing her course to the kitchen. There was no door in here and the only way out was through the window. She hadn't even had the flat for two days and the door was already lying on the floor of the hallway and her window would be broken in a few seconds. The skeleton ran in and the girl shot pitch black shadows at her, slicing her forearm causing her to cry out. In desperation she leapt through the window, the glass cutting her skin as she tumbled onto the grass, coming into a roll and began running again heading for the fence.

Just as she reached it, all three guards were there, holding their blades that sparkled in the sun. Her flames burned brighter and her eyes widened as twin flame throwers shot from her hands and at the guards. As she got closer she skidded to a halt, seeing the fire did no damage to them. The skeleton rammed his shoulder into her and she went sprawling across the ground, landing in a heap. When she opened her eyes she saw the girl standing over her with a fire ball in her hand and the skeleton twisting handcuffs around on his gloved bony finger.

"You are under arrest." The skeleton said as the guards dragged her to her feet. "I have to say, I have never seen a person of your age kick a Cleaver which such strength." He paused and carried on talking. "I'm almost impressed."

Grace gazed at him and narrowed her eyes as he cuffed her, the fire on her arms stopping instantly. She sighed a breath of relief and watched him. "Who are you…"

"Me? You don't know who I am?" He said slightly offended.

"If I did know… I wouldn't be asking would I?" Grace replied sarcastically.

"I am Skulduggery Pleasant and this is my partner Valkyrie Cain." The girl smiled slightly and looked at her.

"Whatever you think I have done… You're wrong…" She pleaded as the Cleaver's began to drag her to the front of the house and out of the gap where the front door should have been.

"Well you caused quite the disturbance, not just that. You assaulted a sanctuary officer." Valkyrie stated, finally speaking.

"What the hell is the Sanctuary?!" Grace tried to struggle but the Cleaver's grip was far too strong.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie gazed at her. "You don't know what the Sanctuary is?"

"No! Please let me go, I need to find someone! It's important…!" Grace held back her tears and stopped struggled, letting herself be placed in the back of a black gleaming Bentley. She sat there in silence for a few moments and the Cleaver's climbed into a van and it drove off, the skeleton and the girl climbed into the car and starting the engine.

"So I'm going to give you this chance so you can tell me who you're looking for." Skulduggery drove, keeping his… Well gaze on the road.

"What?! After you just broke into my home without cause? No way." Grace growled and tried struggling out the cuffs.

"There's no point in trying to escape. Those hand cuffs bound your power. You stuck here, might as well get comfortable before you get thrown in a cell." Valkyrie didn't even look at her, she kept her eyes forward.

"Who the hell are you anyway?! You can't just do whatever you want! You don't know anything!" Grace shouted, narrowing her eyes.

"Well to answer your first question, we told you who we are. Weren't you listening? To answer your second comment, yes we can. Were detectives it comes with the job and thirdly… Would you mind being quiet? You're giving me a headache." Skulduggery asked his voice even.

"You don't even have a brain. You can't get a headache…" Grace muttered, shifting in her seat.

* * *

The drive didn't take long; they were now stopping outside a large building in the town called Roarhaven. Valkyrie got out first and waited by the entrance while Skulduggery dragged Grace out the car, this was really humiliating. Two Cleavers stood guard at the entrance and she cowered away from them, seeing someone in the corner of her eye. It was the man who attacked her earlier, a smug grin spread across his ugly face. This was her chance to get him… Grace shoved Skulduggery off her and jumped, twisting her arms underneath her so her cuffed hands were no longer behind her back. The skeleton took out his gun but she was already sprinting towards her parent's killer, rage burning in her eyes. "You!" she shouted and the man jumped and ran into the shadows and down an alley. Skulduggery and Valkyrie were running after her, but she didn't care all she wanted to do was to wipe that smug grin off his face.

"Grace! Stop! You're making this harder for yourself!" The skeleton shouted as she disappeared into the shadows. A strange feeling inside her made her want to obey him, but the anger made it disappear quite quickly. The alley lead to a dead end and he was nowhere in sight, he had just disappeared like he did earlier on today. She screamed in frustration and fell to her knees, tears once again streaming down her face as she let her head roll forward. She had let her parent's down, he was in her sights and he escaped, again. Heavy footsteps could be heard and Grace stood and turned, walking towards the two of them, speaking as the skeleton was about to grab her.

"Don't bother… Take me, I don't care anymore…" Grace kept her head low and Skulduggery and Valkyrie gazed at each other before he spoke.

"Alrighty then. Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer in Chapter one. **

**Reviews:**

**Ignis Recreant: **Hey! I'm glad your enjoying it! :D Hopefully this chapter is okay and your welcome, I like to say thing's to my reviewers. They write about my chapter, I say thanks. It's a two way street haha.

* * *

**Chapter four.**

Grace was taken straight to the interrogation room, she didn't need to be dragged or shoved – she went without any struggling, no moaning or screaming. Just silence. When she sat down, Skulduggery left the room and shut the door; walking around to the viewing room and stood next to his partner.

"What are your theories on her?" The detective asked, he generally couldn't pin point her. Whenever he got close to she would do something to change his opinions entirely.

"She doesn't seem like the person to murder anyone…" Valkyrie paused and crossed her arms. "Do we know who she was chasing?"

Skulduggery shook his head and sighed, tapping his fingers on his thigh. "There's something about her Valkyrie… She seems familiar to me."

Valkyrie turned her gaze from the girl in the opposite room, raising an eyebrow. "Familiar? Familiar how? Like familiar as in friend or familiar as in a criminal who keeps committing crimes?"

The detective shrugged. "I don't actually know…"

"Wow… The first time where you can't solve a mystery…" she said with a hint of smugness, a grin spreading across her face.

"You know…" He turned gazing at her. "You can stop grinning at any time, we need to interrogate the offender." Skulduggery stated, slightly irritated. Val pursed her lips and followed him, waving at Ghastly as he strolled down the corridor towards her.

"So what seems to be the problem? Have we caught her?" The elder spoke softly as he walked up to her.

"Well I personally think she didn't kill anyone… Are you sure the person who came in with the information wasn't just…" She hesitated.

"Go on…"

"I don't know, setting her up or something? She generally seems confused with the whole situation." Valkyrie gazed over her shoulder as Skulduggery walked into the room where Grace was, shutting the door behind him.

"Well let's see shall we?" Ghastly smiled, the scars crinkling slightly at the corner of his eyes.

* * *

Skulduggery circled around the table and pulled out the chair, sitting down opposite her. They sat there in silence, she wondered when he would speak or if he would slam his hands down on the table in attempt to scare her.

"So…" He said, he voice soft as he studied her. "Grace Night… Why don't you tell me where you were at noon today?"

Grace gazed at her knees, her red hair falling over her face slightly. She said nothing. She didn't want to. She has been wrongly accused, assaulted and kidnapped… Well kidnapped might have been a little strong but still she didn't want to cooperate, not after what had happened, not after what she discovered.

"Is this how it's going to be? You're going to sit there in silence and act as if I'm not here?" The skeleton leaned forward and Grace shifted, shuffling back as far as she could in her chair. "Stop making this hard on yourself Grace. Just tell me where you were."

This time she shook her head, biting her lip nervously. He wouldn't hurt her would he? At that a large bang could be heard as Skulduggery slammed his hands onto the table causing her to flinch. She didn't want to cry, she didn't but the tears just started streaming down her face and she couldn't hold them in anymore.

"Tell me why you killed Marcus Ruess!?" The detective growled angrily, growing impatient.

* * *

Valkyrie watched, standing close to Ghastly who couldn't stop looking at the girl – Skulduggery can be quite scary when he wants to be, and right now he wants to be. Grace's face was hidden behind her hair but there was something about her which made Ghastly's his heart ache.

"Skulduggery is being too hard on her… Maybe I should go in…" Valkyrie moved to the door just as the administrator walked in, nodding to her before turning his attention to Ghastly.

"Elder Bespoke… Grand Mage Ravel is asking for you."

"Oh… Well I shall be with him in a moment." Ghastly said, smiling as the administrator left the two of them.

"Val, I think your right… I think she was set up. Spread the word to Skulduggery before he gives her a heart attack." The elder walked past her and disappeared down the corridor. Valkyrie walked into the other room and Skulduggery looked up at her.

"Oh… Now you're in trouble. My partner here can eat your brains…" Skulduggery looked at her and gestured. He had to admit, he had used that one before with Scapegrace and it only worked on him because he was an idiot.

"Skulduggery… Can we talk? In private?"

Grace turned her head slightly, gazing at her through a gap in her hair. Skulduggery sighed and walked over to her and opened the door, stepping out to the corridor.

"What is it? I really think I was getting through to her." The detective questioned.

"Skulduggery she hasn't said one word… You weren't even close." Valkyrie stated before returning to the important subject. "I think she was set up…"

"What?"

"Well look at her? The way Ruess was murdered; there was a struggle and a lot of blood. The only scratch's Grace has is from the glass which cut her from jumping through her kitchen window." Valkyrie wanted to smile at her detective skills but she held it back, gazing at him for a reaction.

"Well… I suppose… But there is mild bruising around her neck. That would lead to an attack, but it wouldn't link in with the murder scene…" The detective sighed and leaned against the wall.

* * *

While the two of them were talking outside, Grace had been twisting her wrists out of the cuffs. Somehow they were quite loose; she thought it was because Skulduggery placed them on while her arms were covered in fire. Either way she was nearly free. She could hear the conversation going silent and she froze, taking in a sharp breath as she gazed over her shoulder, waiting to see if the handle turned. When the conversation resumed she slipped one hand out the cuff, loosening the other before pulling it free. Grace sat there for a second, observing the cuts and red marks around her wrists; did she really want to get out of here that much that she injure herself to do it? Well… She did jump through a window so … Probably yes.

Grace stood, turning just as the door opened. The cuffs were still in her hand and she leaped for cover, standing behind the door.

"Where… Where did she go?" Skulduggery said rather surprised. Valkyrie stepped further into the room and Grace took the chance to strike, moving towards Skulduggery and cuffing his arms behind his back before he could summon a flame. Valkyrie turned but she was already sprinting out of the room, turning right down the corridor as the curses from Skulduggery faded because of the distance.

"That wasn't so hard…" Grace whispered to herself and she darted around a corner and through a door, slamming it firmly shut behind her. She seemed to be in some sort of infirmary, there were medical equipment and hospital beds placed tidally around the room. In curiosity Grace walked forward stepping into the light, in the corner of the room there was a… Well the only thing to describe it would be a monster. In fear she froze as it spoke to her in a high terrifying voice.

"Who disturbs me?" it said, not looking over to her.

Grace said nothing and she started to back away to the door.

"Don't… Do that." It said, turning and glaring at her. The beast was ugly, it's limbs were abnormally long and it had a gruesome scab as a nose. "Who are you? I haven't seen you before."

"Uh…Um..." She stuttered; her eyes wide in fear as it walked over to her. It was tall and it towered over her as it glared.

"I have a feeling you're not supposed to be here." The beast said as it clenched it's fists. The smell coming from the monster was eye watering and Grace backed away but it grabbed her wrist tightly.

"You know, trespassing it illegal." It said, pulling her closer.

"Please… I just wanted to escape… I didn't mean—"

The beast cut her off and she flinched in terror as it shouted at her. "Be quiet! You have not only trespassed but you have also escaped from custody?" It shook it's head, sighing. "Well what are we going to do with you? Hmm?"

"Let… Me go?" She said hopeful, as it pulled her over to a metal table. "Please, don't do this…" she whispered, her legs shaking with fear.

"People like you need to be punished." It said, lifting her and slamming her down onto the table causing her to let out a loud scream.

* * *

Skulduggery and Valkyrie stepped out into the corridor, it took Valkyrie a while to find the key to the cuffs – apparently keeping the key in his shoe was a smart idea. The corridor was long and Grace was already out of sight when they started running after her.

"This girl is slippery…" Skulduggery said, pulling the revolver out of his pocket.

"I wouldn't blame her. You went a little _too_ strong in there Skulduggery." She replied, gazing at him as they neared the end of the corridor.

"I was not _too_ strong. I was simply sharing my impatience for the situation."

The two of the came to a junction and they stopped, Grace could have gone either way. Though if she gone right then she would have gone to Doctor Nye, if she turned left the Cleavers would have captured her by now.

"Which way?" Val asked, her gaze switching down one corridor to the other.

"Uh… I have no idea." The skeleton asked raising his palm to read disturbances in the air. After a few moments their question was answered as the most chilling scream echoed loudly down the corridor.

"Nye…" They both said before rushing down the corridor bursting into the infirmary.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer in Chapter one.**

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**Ignis Recreant**: Haha You don't sound like a stalker, I'm happy you review my chapters! :D And don't be silly! You don't sound rude, I love getting feedback it helps me improve! Yeah I struggled a little with Nye, I didn't really know what he would say so I kinda guessed lol. Thanks for the critism :) I hope this chapter is better :)

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* * *

**Chapter five.**

Skulduggery and Valkyrie burst into the infirmary, seeing Grace being pinned down on a table. Valkyrie saw the fear in her eyes and she felt almost sorry for her, she had just come across quite a terrifying looking beast and for a person not used to using magic, it would come as quite the surprise.

"Nye. Why doesn't this surprise me? Would you be so kind as returning the prisoner back to our custody?" The detective said, Skulduggery wasn't particularly fond of Doctor Nye; he didn't particularly trust him either.

Doctor Nye didn't say anything at first; he just gazed at Grace with narrowed eyes. "Do you know this young lady has incredible power running through her veins?" He looked up to see the skeleton and the girl stair at them with slight confusion. "Of course you don't. Even she doesn't know."

"Well I'm pretty sure she does now. Release her Nye." Valkyrie said, taking a few steps forward.

The beast sighed and the hand pinning Grace down lifted and she squirmed away from him, falling onto the floor and crawling to hide behind Skulduggery. No amount of combat training prepared her for this, no amount of anything would have prepared her for this; who was she kidding? Skulduggery holstered his gun and turned to her, pulling her onto her feet.

"Grace… I need to know. Did you kill Marcus Ruess?" The detective looked at her; his voice was smooth this time. The anger was now replaced with softness. Valkyrie stepped beside him and smiled, she seemed like a nice enough girl but she could be wrong, she normally was.

"No… I don't even know who he is. You have this all wrong… I was attacked earlier by a man who murdered my parents twelve years ago." Grace looked up, her eyes filled with fear.

"Was that the man who you chased earlier on?" Valkyrie interjected.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I don't want to cause any trouble I just want to figure everything out." She paused looking at the ground as Skulduggery led her out the room and down the corridor. "I don't know what's happening to me, the blue flames… I didn't intend on hurting anyone."

Skulduggery tilted his head at her, stopping for a moment as he looked at her. "Grace, I'm going to ask you a question and I need you to be honest with me." Even Valkyrie was curious as to what he wanted to know, he only spoke with that tone when something serious was about to happen.

"O-okay…" Grace looked at him as she brushed her side fringe off her face. "Go ahead."

The skeleton took a step towards her, studying her closely. "Were your parent's killed in a house fire? Or… Well to make it look like they died in a house fire?" He was generally serious and it caused Valkyrie to narrow her eyes slightly.

"Skulduggery…" she said, grabbing her partners arm and widening her eyes to say "_What the hell are you doing?!" _Skulduggery held up one finger, whispering one moment.

"Well… Yeah, I found out this morning about what happened. All my memories came flooding back and I remembered everything about that day. Why…?" Grace bit her lip gently, she always did when she was nervous and it was also from the pain in her back where Nye slammed her down on that metal table.

"I thought as much. Could you possibly describe the man who attacked you?" The detective was going into full mystery solving mode and Valkyrie didn't stand a chance to get a word in. He says it "Run's his flow." Whatever the hell that means. The three of them stood there in silence for a few moments which felt more like a few decades.

"He had dark eyes, a scar on his right cheek… Tall I guess quite muscular—"

Skulduggery cut her off and nodded. "Just as I thought, I knew I recognised you from somewhere." The detective resumed his walking and left Valkyrie and Grace standing there with confused expressions.

"You will get used to that, I swear." Valkyrie muttered; rolling her eyes at the lack of manners her partner possesses. Eventually the two of them followed, Grace was a little slower than Val was as she felt tender and bruised. It had been a long time since she felt like this; the last time was during a fight she had when she was training in martial arts; that was a painful experience she would love to forget. Once they got to the end of the corridor, Skulduggery spun on his heel clicking his fingers and pointing at Grace.

"Ghastly will want to see you immediately." Grace froze, her eyes widening. She wasn't breathing and Valkyrie who nudged her to take a breath.

"Ghastly… Bespoke…?" Everything seemed to be going in slow motion, around her sorcerers walked and cleavers stood still as statues. She could see the wisps of hair blowing slightly in a draught and Skulduggery's mouth moving but she heard nothing – it was as if she had detached her mind completely. Valkyrie stood in front of her and waved her hands across her eyes, she seemed to be talking to the detective but still, no sound reached her ears. Grace just presumed she was in shock, all of today's events finally catching up with her. Eventually Skulduggery stepped forward; placing his bony gloved hands on her shoulders and shook her continually until her head finally snapped out of its trance, her eyes lifting from the spot of dirt she focused on, on the wall behind him.

"Are you alright?" He repeated, gazing at her. She was surprised Valkyrie knew if he was being sincere or not, or if he was telling a joke or expressing any emotion at all for that matter. Because he was a skeleton the only recognisable trait she had picked up from him was the tilting of his head, which gave her the impression that he was either thinking or generally worried.

"I'm fine… Sorry I was just a little surprised." Grace said, regaining her composure.

"Well… Anyway Ghastly will want to see you. Do you think you can handle that?" The detective asked as Valkyrie stepped into her view.

"You sure you're okay? I mean… You went all weird and you kinda looked like a zombie."

"Oh… Well thanks for the compliment. But I'm fine." She muttered, slightly irritated with the use of the word 'Zombie' to describe her appearance. The two of them nodded and led the way, Grace trailing slowly behind. She had known this man as a child but since then she has changed, grown into a woman. What if he didn't remember her? That would be something she couldn't cope with, not after everything.

After a few minutes of walking they got to a door, two cleavers stood guard. Through their visors she felt their gaze and it was most unnerving, maybe the word had spread that she nearly kicked one of them through a wall. That would be difficult to explain. Suddenly the doors swung open and Skulduggery led her into a large room filled with light and architecture. On the far side of the room two men were speaking, one of them wore a long robe and the other had his sleeves rolled up revealing his strong arms. The man wearing the robe was actually rather handsome, he had dark hair and a strong features. The other man would not be seen as 'handsome' to most people, but to Grace he was probably the most incredible man she had ever seen. He had broad shoulders and a muscular figure and his face was covered in the most hideous scars but that was why she warmed to him, it was something familiar and familiar is what she really needed right now.

The two gentleman on the far end of the room stopped talking and turned to them, Grace cleverly positioned herself so that she was hiding behind Skulduggery, though he wasn't much to hide behind but still her face could not be seen and that was all she cared about.

"Grand mage Ravel." He nodded to him and then turned his attention to Ghastly. "Ghastly… I have someone here that I think you should meet."

This was it, this was the moment where she met the man she was so fond of as a child. This was supposed to be a great exciting moment but for her this was terrifying, she felt her knees weaken and her body was shaking all over. Why was she so afraid? This is what she wanted.

"Well, who is it?" Ghastly began to walk towards them and Grace felt her chest tightening, the warmth and colour draining from her face. She couldn't do this, she couldn't it was all too much. Valkyrie was standing beside Skulduggery so if she began to walk away she guessed they wouldn't even notice her until it was too late. Ghastly was getting closer and she had to make a choice, leave now and never see him again or confront him. Time was ticking and she began to breathe roughly, her palms getting sticky with sweat.

"Ghastly this is…" Skulduggery turned and his sentence was cut off as the spot where Grace stood was now empty. "This kid never stops running." He sighed and began the chase once again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**ClarabelleWannabe**: YAY! I'm so happy you did lol. Here's the next one! Enjoy! :D

**Ignis Recreant:** Hello again! I'm glad your back haha - A TURKEY!? WHERE!? And thanks, trying to add more detail so the readers can picture the scene better lol. And I can, I will try and squeeze her in the next chapter :)

**Sorry this chapter took so long, I have been busy with college work :( **

* * *

**Chapter six.**

Grace didn't stop running this time, she just headed towards the exit – she needed to get out. She felt trapped, panicky… On edge; she couldn't deal with this. Today was the day her life changed, she used to dream and write stories about magical people and bad guys but actually finding out that all her fantasies were real? It was all a bit too overwhelming. The cleavers stood guard at the entrance to the Sanctuary, their armoured heads turning to see her sprinting for the exit. Normally she would have stopped, held her hands up in surrender but this time she didn't; this time she carried on sprinting and burst out the doors and into the cold autumn air.

As the distance from the Sanctuary got larger, her pace slowed – eventually she began to walk and then stopped altogether. Grace was on the outskirts of the village now and she turned, gazing where she had just come to see if anyone was following her. Nobody was thankfully, she was exhausted – she was in pain, covered in cuts and bruises and her back and shoulders ached. Who the hell were those people?

* * *

Skulduggery and Valkyrie rushed out the building, glancing right then left to see if they could spot her. She wasn't anywhere in sight and they both walked to the black gleaming car. It was a 1954 R-Type continental Bentley, the apple of Skulduggery's eye… Well if he had any eyes it definitely would be.

"Do you think she got far?" Valkyrie said as she slid into her perfectly positioned passenger seat.

"Well considering she doesn't know the area… I guess not." The detective replied; Valkyrie knew he had a point – he always had a point, there was never a time where he never expressed that point… Actually come to think of it she found it rather irritating when he was always right.

"Okay… So which way?" She gazed around the street as the Bentley kicked into gear, the soft hum of the engine filling the streets as they drove through the town. Grace was still nowhere in sight and they began to believe that she really did get away.

"I'm guessing this direction." He replied, he really wasn't sure, but it was the only way into the town from Dublin so if Grace was paying any attention to the journey route then this would be the way she would go.

* * *

Grace began to walk; she was in a narrow street now, fields filled with cabbages and potatoes on either side. She thought she had got away, escaped from everything but no… The man, who she wanted to injure, strolled towards her with three other mean looking men behind him. There was something strange about them; they were so graceful and beautiful, almost… inhuman.

"Hello sweetheart. My boss _really_ wants to meet you, so I brought reinforcements. I hope you don't mind." A smug wide grin spread across his ugly face and the three men stepped forward, their teeth snarling.

"Uh oh…" Grace span and sprinted in the other direction, her feet once again pounding against the concrete roads – but this time the need to escape was far greater, whatever these things were, It looked like they could tear off her skin with one swipe of their hardened finger nails.

"After her! They will want her alive!" The man shouted his orders and Grace glanced over her shoulder seeing the three men bound after with such speed and elegance. Who were they? The road ahead of her widened and she was heading towards the town again, she wasn't sure if it was the right idea but if she got close enough to the sanctuary then maybe those Cleaver things would swoop in and help her.

Headlights could be seen in the distance and Grace screamed for help just as one of the man's beasts lunged for her, sending her sprawling across the road. The landing wasn't exactly perfect but she did her best to tuck her chin into her chest and roll, it was a bit wobbly but she got onto her feet just in time to see the three men running at her. Swiftly she ducked under another swipe and her martial art skills were beginning to take effect, she moved with speed, her senses on full alert. As one of the men flew a punch in her direction, she brought her elbows up, blocking it before twisting her body into him – flipping him around her hip and slamming him hard onto the ground. That same strength that swarmed her this morning now fuelled her punches and kicks but still that wasn't enough to save her.

* * *

Skulduggery and Valkyrie drove slowly, they wanted to make sure they paid attention to every detail; he always told her it was important and that she should do it but then again that's why he was there, so she didn't have to.

"Anything?" She asked, Valkyrie was bored already and they haven't even been driving for 15 minutes. Just when Skulduggery was about to speak the scream for help reached them and he slammed on the breaks, his gaze drifting into the distance.

"That's not a good sign." He muttered, removing his revolver from his jacket and stepping out. Valkyrie rushed out and stood beside him, stuffing her hands into her perfectly fitted jacket pocket.

"Can you see anything?" Her gaze switched from her partner to the narrow country lane, if she _really_ squinted then she could make out some movement; but that was it, it was far too dark to pick out faces and figures.

* * *

Grace was grabbed from behind, her arm got twisted behind her back so quickly it felt like it got yanked from the socket; causing her to let out another scream. No matter how much she tried the power that coursed through her veins earlier on didn't want to appear – it was as if it was locked away from her when she needed it the most. She growled in frustration as she was forced to the ground, her right cheek grazing the concrete – Through the gloom she saw her parent's murderer stroll towards her as if he hadn't had an inch of guilt for the whole situation, by the looks of things he does this every other day.

"You really are making my life difficult. My head will be decapitated if I don't bring you in, and darling – I'm not going to let a stubborn brat ruin me." He spoke with such anger and ferocity. It was strange though, in her opinion she should be the one to be angry – she was the one with her face pressed against the concrete, surrounded by three vicious snarling men.

"Who are you…?!" Grace was beginning to fear for her life, whatever killed her parent's all those years ago must have been important if he is going to so much trouble to capture her.

"Where are my manners? I am Marcus Ruess." A grin spread across his face and he knelt down and whispered into her ear. "Grace Night, be a dear and stop struggling? I wouldn't want my little minions to rip out your throat – it's far too messy."

As soon as he gave that order she felt the need to obey, every bone in her body ignored the need to get away just like that, as if he snapped his fingers and her own will power disappeared into thin air. "Stand up and do _not_ make a sound." He ordered and she clenched her fists but still did as she was told.

"Why can't I…"

He cut her off and pressed a finger against the lips, shaking his head. "Hush now." He muttered and grabbed her wrist, dragging her further into the darkness. In the distance she saw one of the Ruess men climb into a black van which was cleverly hidden behind some bushes. Whatever they wanted her for, she guessed it wasn't for a natter and a cup of tea – this was serious and she needed to get away but whenever she tried to that urge to follow the Ruess's orders appeared, she couldn't fight them.

"What do you want with me…?" Grace asked; it was a question she felt the need to ask since the incident this morning.

"Well… I might as well tell you – It's not like you can escape, is it?" He chuckled and opened the van door, shoving her inside. "You have been causing quite the riot Miss Night. Your power can destroy worlds and I'm afraid we cannot let you do that." Once his minions were in the back of the van, he started the engine and began to drive heading towards Dublin.

"D-destroy worlds…? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I don't even know how to use my power let alone destroy anything with it!" She was confused, snappy and irritated. Her body ached all over and this goon thinks her power could destroy worlds? How could he be so stupid?

"That's how you destroy the world, not this one but still – it's just as important." The headlights illuminated the road in front of them and Grace kept her gaze forward, her seatbelt keeping her from jumping around in her seat.

"Not this world? What world are you thinking of?" she snapped and it caused him to turn his head and narrow his eyes.

"Watch your tone _Child_. Your attitude will get you nowhere." He growled, his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "You know so little about magic so I wouldn't expect your _tiny_ mind to understand. But to put it simply, there is another dimension – similar to this one where the sorcerers rule over the mortal kind. Where the darkness rules and is run with such discipline and fear that no one would dare step out of line."

"Sounds like school…" she muttered and he roared with anger.

"Be quiet! Melovent will be sending his best men over to meet you and when he does you wouldn't dare mock me or them! They would make you writhe in pain without lifting a finger! You stupid _stupid_ child!" He was shouting now, it really hurt her ears and if it wasn't for the orders she would have covered them with her hands by now. Melovent didn't seem like a cheery guy by the sounds of things and was it even possible to inflict pain without hitting someone? It couldn't be possible… Could it?

"You best learn to bite your tongue child, because the next few days – when they arrive… You will need to save whatever energy you have left to keep your heart beating."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer in Chapter one.**

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**Ignis Recreant: YAY! I'm happy you liked it, I'm trying to figure out a story line which is different but not too impossible haha. UNDER MY BED... Oh... My cupboard? I wondered why I could hear turkey noises it's been freaking me out for days! XD**

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* * *

**Chapter seven.**

Skulduggery raised his palm, reading for any displacements in the air. Valkyrie could feel it from here. There was a struggle but all of a sudden it stopped, she didn't know if someone had been injured or the fight was over – either way they needed to find out, it could be Grace.

Without notice, the detective walked forward into the darkness and it swallowed him. For a few moments she stood there encased in the orange glow of the street lights – reluctant to follow but in the end she did, she always did; Valkyrie fumbled in the darkness until her eyes adjusted to the gloom. Skulduggery was standing with his arms crossed, facing her; she knew he was staring at her but she didn't care. "What are you looking at?" Her tone was blunt as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"What took you _so_ long?" He asked before raising his hand. "Never mind, I don't care." He walked passed her and stepped back into the orange haze which bounced off the wet road.

Valkyrie raised her arms and growled, what was the point in that she thought to herself before she walked back towards the Bentley. "Well? Did you see anything or were you just checking up on the growth of the potatoes?" She questioned, rather irritated.

"Potatoes? Dear god Valkyrie, don't be so _silly_ potatoes don't grow this time of year." Skulduggery shook his head and slid into the car before she could reply. He really was irritating her, he is normally always like this but she hated it when he didn't tell her something he just discovered. Swiftly she slid in and the soft click of the seat belt notified her it was in place.

"So? Did you find anything? Was it Grace?" She asked, rather impatient.

"Oh yes. I believe she has been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? By who…?"

"Ah see I'm not sure who it was exactly, but my bet is on the man who attacked her earlier. A van drove off but I couldn't see the driver – their heading back to Dublin."

"Well we best get going then." She replied and they began to drive, the darkness consuming them again.

* * *

Grace shuffled in her seat and the lights of the city lit up the roads as Ruess began to drive into an abandoned warehouse estate next to the river. Graffiti covered every wall, the buildings were crumbling and the windows were shattered, even vines and bushes began to grow up the walls. When the van stopped her fists clenched, she knew this was where the torture would happened, he said so himself on the journey over. Ruess opened the door and slammed it shut, her gaze locked on him as he walked around the front of the vehicle; Grace shuffled to the other side but he grabbed her ankle and yanked her out, her head slamming into the concrete causing a deep wound to open above her eye brow. She moaned and he gripped the back of her jacket and pulled her onto her feet, dragging her into the warehouse where his little pack of snarling idiots waited.

"This is a mistake… You have this _all_ wrong…" she pleaded, gazing at him as her feet struggled to keep up with her, the blood running into her eye and down her cheek.

"Will you be quiet… There is no point even _trying _to talk your way out of the situation, it's not going to work." He was annoyed, she could tell but still how did he have this… Power over her? Not even her adoptive parents could make her do as she is told.

"How…" She hesitated but resumed. "How are you making me do this…"

"Making you do what?" He looked down at her as he shoved her into a chair. "Sit there and do not move."

Grace did as she was told, again and she looked up at him with her eyes and sighed. "This… You making me do things, there is no way I would do this but you have cast some sort of spell or something magical like that…"

Marcus Ruess laughed and shook his head, his scar wrinkling as he smiled. "You really are oblivious aren't you? Well I guess you would be without any parents to teach you."

"I have parents…"

"Not biological ones. I should know, I killed them remember." He crossed his arms and pulled up a chair, they were in a small study now and it smelt of damp and mould. Dark stains covered the walls and floors and the only source of light in here were a few candles and a lamp that stood lonely in the corner.

"Yeah I remember… I also remember giving you that scar." Grace snapped and she knew she would instantly regret it. Ruess stood and clenched his fists, leaning his face in close to hers.

"This scar is nothing to the pain you will be feeling… When they come… They will make you scream, they will make you bleed and cry. And guess what, I will be standing there watching." His eyes narrowed and he didn't move for a few seconds before he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest.

"If I could punch you right now… I would." She muttered and she let her sapphire gaze drop onto his boots. He wasn't a tidy looking man, he wasn't exactly unattractive; he was handsome in that rugged way. His clothes were clean but his jeans were ripped and his shirt sleeves were pushed up to his elbows.

"Well you can't, so get used to it. Until you have a taken name there isn't a hope in hell of getting your own way."

"Taken name?" Grace glanced back up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"It's the name that seals your given name..." Ruess instantly regretted that comment, he just gave her information that could help her escape, if she gave herself a name then he wouldn't have any control over her – he would have to use force and his bosses wanted her with little injuries as possible.

"It seals my given name?" Grace thought about it for a moment and a smile caressed her face, this could be her way out – if she escaped then whoever the people were that wanted to torture her, would have to drop that idea and move onto something far more interesting.

"Don't get any ideas; It would ultimately lead to bitter fights and strife." He muttered standing up, raising his arms into the air to stretch off.

* * *

Skulduggery drove sensibly but still with a hint of urgency, if Grace had been abducted by this gentleman she didn't have a chance if she didn't have any control over her body. The power over the name is unbreakable until it is fully sealed and Valkyrie knew that, she experienced it with China when she first stepped into the magical world and she hated it. Every bone in her body wanted to walk out that apartment that day but she couldn't it was as if she was had strings attached to her body and China was manipulating her as if she was her own personal puppet. It was horrible but it gave her the strength to find out her name and when she did, the weight on her shoulders that forced her down was lifted and she was free to leave.

"Do you think they will kill her?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Kill her? No, he would have done that in the street. Whoever took her needs her alive but there is still the threat that she could be hurt and we need to get her back." The detective pressed on the speed a little and the dark narrow roads had been traded for the luminous orange of the street lights. The buildings and homes blurred past as they drove through Dublin, stopping at some traffic lights.

"So… Where do we look first?"

Skulduggery tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and thought for a moment. "I don't know; they will be in a place which is unoccupied by civilians and away from public attention."

"Well… they would be taking her to an old industrial estate then or an abandoned house? Right? That would be the logical thing to do." Valkyrie leaned forward in her chair and turned to him. "Turn left and drive towards Bridge Street, there is an old set of abandoned warehouses there – next to the river."

Skulduggery turned his head and looked at her. "I always knew it was a good idea to bring you along with me." He pressed his foot down as the traffic light beamed green. Swiftly he turned left and powered on down the street at a fast but reasonable pace.

Valkyrie grinned and rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up and drive."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Hey guys! I have changed my book cover! I hope you like it - I made it myself! Now it gives you an idea of what Grace Night looks like! :D**

**Reviews:**

**Guest**: Awww I'm so glad! Well here it is, I hope you enjoy it! :D

**Ignis Recreant:** Omg me too! Now you have said that every time I read that line that song pops into my head haha. He... Might... Eat... Meh?! NOOOO! *runs away and hides* Yeah it was a little short, I was exhausted but I wanted to put up a chapter for everyone so I'm really sorry! I hope this chapter is better and clearer hehe. Thank's for reviewing all my chapters, I really appreciate it :D

Sorry it's taking so long for me to write these chapters! But here you go! I hope you like it :D x

* * *

**Chapter eight.**

Grace sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair, every time she shifted to get into _another _comfortable position it would creak and cause the slightly odd looking minion men things to snap their ugly heads in her direction. Ruess was out and had been for the past ten minutes and the fear started to sink in, what happens if she really does get tortured – what happens if she does try and destroy this other dimension? Everything he has said about these people sounds absolutely terrifying and she had to be honest with herself, she was _not_ up for blended fingers and broken bones.

While he was gone she had been considering the whole 'taken name' thing – a few ideas have popped into her head, for example; Janie Rider, Inferno Flight and Bluebell Deadwood. Neither of the three seemed to fit her, they just sounded darn right silly when she said them out loud they didn't seem right – they weren't personal enough it, it wasn't Grace Night. A sigh escaped her slightly cracked lips and she tried to stand but her willpower still wasn't enough for her to escape, she needed to find a name and fast; the consequence's would be horrifying if she didn't figure one out in time. Grace clenched her fists tightly and let her head roll forward; it was as if her butt was stuck to the chair with the world's strongest super glue.

"Ugh!" she was angry, she wanted to go home but this life she has stepped into… Forced into has trapped her and no amount of running will get her out of it. The three men stood a few meters away and their dark blood shot eyes locked onto her, the way they watched her was almost feral; it kind of resembled the way a fox looked at a rabbit or a snake and a rat… about to pounce on their pray and rip out their throats. A shudder ran down her spine and goose bumps rose on her pale arms, causing her hairs to stand on end. They were still watching her and after a few moments of intense staring the three of them walked towards her, saliva now dripping from their protruding fangs.

"Uh oh…"

* * *

Skulduggery was driving into the estate now and they were both greeted with the same crumbling architecture and overgrown fauna. There had to be about twenty different warehouses? Ranging from different sizes and shapes. Valkyrie sat there, her dark brown eyes gazing her surroundings and studying them closely; Skulduggery didn't exactly give her a full description of a van, apparently to him a van looks like a van and if she saw one then he would confirm if it was the correct van or not and then he also added that it was dark and he didn't have any eyes so if he missed any important details he had the perfectly viable reason.

"Well… I don't see any vans yet." She spoke, breaking the silence. "Are you _sure_ you saw a van? As you said you don't actually _have_ eyes so…"

The detective turned his head and tilted slightly. "If I didn't have eyes Valkyrie, I wouldn't be able to drive would I? Stop being so ridiculous." Skulduggery slowed down the speed and started to look around too.

"Maybe they didn't come down here?"

"It's a possibility but I have a feeling that this mystery kidnapper would come here, it's the only place close to Roarhaven which is away from any public attention." The car came to a slow halt and Skulduggery raised a bony finger and pointed in the direction of a warehouse, outside was a black van and a faint yellow light radiated from the dirt stained windows. "Told you we would find it."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes and unstrapped her seat belt before opening the door. "Well… Let's not sit around; we have a job to do."

* * *

The snarling and hissing grew more ferocious, the three of them kept licking their lips and they began to snap at her causing her to flinch. Oh how she wanted to make a run for it, she was good at that – running. It was something she could do for long periods of time, at reasonable speeds, depending on hills and weather conditions but still, she was always a good runner; it was a nice satisfying feeling once you have just been for a run it makes you feel healthy, proud and alive.

"Why don't we talk about this like adults…" She tried raising her arms but they were still glued to her sides. This was definitely going to give her nightmares and she would probably have trust issues after this but she would cross that hurdle when she was standing right in front of it; that was only if she was still alive at the end of it. They were surrounding her now, circling her - whatever characteristic that made them appear human was lost, don't get her wrong they looked like any normal… tramp or skank that lived on the streets but they weren't human anymore, their minds were lost to something darker, something… evil.

"Stop it…" She pleaded but the only thing they did was walk around her. Her heart began to beat faster and it felt as if it would burst through her rib cage and through her chest. The men started to get more agitated and one of them leaned down behind her, she felt his breath on her neck and she shivered again and that's when he did it – he took a deep sniff and ran his fangs across her carotid artery, teasing her. Grace wanted to scream but when she opened her mouth no words, no noise, no cry for help left her lips – all she did was let out a deep breath as the realisation of what these creatures were finally came to light. Vampires, these three men were vampires and she had no way to protect herself, no holy water or garlic… Who is she kidding that crap isn't going to work, something deep down inside of her was screaming for her to escape but she couldn't, even if she could the information she had just discovered stopped her in her tracks, paralysing her.

One of the foul creatures stood in front of her and crouched down, moving his face close to hers to lick the drop of falling blood that rolled down her cheek. His tongue was wet and cold, she felt no heat radiate from him. This was it… this was how she was going to die, these three monsters would drain her dry and nobody would even know. She was pretty sure they would find a good place to hide the corpse – probably in a swamp or maybe they would keep her for some sort of trophy… Grace shook her head and slammed her forehead into the vampires nose and it snarled and snapped causing the other two to run to it's aid.

"Whoops…"

* * *

Valkyrie stuffed her hands in her coat pocket and waited for Skulduggery to join her outside in the autumn night. The place, in her opinion was eerie and she would like to spend the least amount of time here as possible.

"So shall we?" Skulduggery walked forward tilting his hat down as he walked towards the warehouse, tapping the symbols engraved in his colour bones – instantly his bony frame was covered with a new layer of skin and features, he even had hair which was the main thing he wanted. Valkyrie remembered asking him when he first considered the Façade, what he would want the most and he said hair, most definitely – apparently he missed it.

"Yes lets…" Valkyrie walked forward following him, she really wasn't prepared for a fight and she really hoped that there wouldn't be any hollow men or zombies or vampires… actually anything that would create any form of fight would really be unwanted in this situation but there was no way that was going to happen, it never did. As they neared the warehouse she could hear some sort of… snarling and Skulduggery wrapped his arm around her waist and flew off the ground and onto the roof. When their feet were firmly on the gravelled roof top and away from falling to uncertified death, they walked over to the sky light and peered down through the dirty glass – seeing the struggle below them.

"That's not good." Skulduggery muttered quietly.

"What's not good…?" Valkyrie gazed at him and then peered through seeing the three vampires snarling at Grace. "Infected…" She growled and let her head roll forward. "I hate infected…"

"I don't think their infected anymore… Well if they are, then they won't be for long." The detective removed his revolver from his coat and cocked the gun, admiring the beautiful weaponry her held in his hand. "God I love this gun…" The skeleton stood and snapped his palm toward the glass, causing it to shatter before he leapt through and let himself fall before displacing the air to slow the decent. Valkyrie followed immediately after and did the same, displacing the air and landing on the concrete flooring slightly heavier than she would have liked.

"Leave her alone." The detective's voice was stern as his aimed his gun straight at the infected chest, the other two growled and spat at him. Grace sat in the chair, to Valkyrie she looked so frail and broken – her face showed no emotion but her eyes were filled with fear and terror, she didn't deserve to die like this; nobody did. "Grace are you alright to sit tight for a bit?"

Grace looked up and nodded slowly, it was the only thing she could do in this situation. Without a taken name she was a slave to anyone who wanted her.

"To be honest with you gentleman, it would be nice not to have the strife right now…" he muttered and Grace's eyes snapped up, her senses sharpening – her power returning to her. All this strength gave her the power to stand, shakily but still she actually removed herself from the chair and stood, her fists clenched and she wiped the blood which ran into her eyes, letting her arm fall to her side. Skulduggery tilted his head and gazed around the three infected, curious to what she was doing. "Grace…?"

The two of them looked at her and the three infected spun on their heels, their eyes widening in sheer surprise. "Actually it's not Grace anymore…" A smile grew on her bloody face and she felt the tingle spread up her arms which ignited the burning blue flame. "It's Autumn Strife…."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**Ignis Recreant**: Hewro! I'm glad, I struggled finding the name and trying to add it into the story aha but I got there in the end. And yeah sorry about that I have had college all day then work so when I get home I just go to bed -.-' Sorry about that xD My hair... Ewww that's weird! I wondered why it got shorter and all my split ends were gone! haha! YAY! I'm glad you think so! I wanted to make it better than the last one so I'm happy I achieved that hehe. Here's the next chapter, enjoy! :D

**ElenreailSparks**: WELCOME! Haha Hello new reviewer! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Oooooh hello! Nice to meet ya! :D Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter nine. **

Autumn knew what she had to do now; she sensed that Valkyrie was uncomfortable with the whole situation and Skulduggery… Well he did what he always did, act calm and try and make a plan. The two of them were surprised when she stood and introduced herself, perhaps they didn't think she would take a name so fast or… well she didn't really know what else they would be so surprised at, perhaps that her arms were covered with burning blue fire and she wasn't running around screaming in pain. The only thing she was slightly irritated at were the three snapping vampires standing in front of her and that her favourite jumper has now got no sleeves because they got burned off. Fantastic.

"Autumn Strife…? How fitting." The detective spoke softly, his voice as smooth as velvet as his gaze never left her.

"Thanks, took a while but I got there." Autumn grinned and the narrowed her sapphire blue eyes at the beasts. She could try and fight them or she could lead them away but neither of those ideas seemed particularly appealing, a bath did and a fresh pair of clothes however seemed perfect. "Now what shall we do with you?" she clenched her fists and smacked her palm flat into one of the beasts chest which sent him hurtling in the other direction towards Skulduggery and Valkyrie. Swiftly they stepped to the side and watched it fly past them with a burning hand print singed into his chest.

"That's going to leave a mark…" Valkyrie flinched as a large crash could be heard as the vampire landed in a pile of metal barrels. The other vampires were growling louder now but they were changing; Autumn raised an eyebrow and took a step back – nearly falling over the chair.

"What… Are they doing…?" Autumn's eyes just stared at them as they started to scream and hunch over clutching their chests.

"Autumn… Come over here nice and slow…" The detective raised his palm to her and ushered her over. "Actually forget slow… Just run…" Skulduggery was about to fire his gun but Valkyrie slammed his hand down before he could pull the trigger.

"Don't! If they move or you miss, you could hit _her_." Valkyrie gazed over her shoulder and the vampire behind her was going through the same transformation. Autumn took a few steps away and heard a tearing sound which caused her to snap her head round to see what it was. Instead of the beasts she saw a second ago standing there, white ugly creatures with sharp claws, black eyes and extremely sharp teeth replaced them – their human skins were shredded and on the floor next to them.

"That's… Not good…" Autumn turned and sprinted and Skulduggery began to fire his gun now that she was out of the way. The gun shots echoed through the warehouse and when she reached the door she turned seeing Valkyrie swirling the shadows and Skulduggery firing two twin flame-flowers from his palms, she guessed he was out of bullets. The two of them were fighting the two dark creatures and she gazed around the empty space trying to find the third, it was nowhere in sight and she began to felt worried. The flames on her hands and arms had gone out and she doubted that her combat skills would do anything against these things; they haven't her done much good so far.

"Run…! Autumn get _out_ of here!" The detective screamed at her, shouting orders. Autumn decided it would be the safest thing to do, after all the two of them were trained in magic and they both knew how to use it – she didn't. This isn't her life, even if it was, what the hell was she supposed to do with it. Skulduggery shouted at her again and she nodded stiffly and turned, sprinting out the door and onto the road leading away from the warehouse. Where the hell was she? It had been twelve years since she lived in Dublin and even then she probably never came down here to play Frisbee, it was hardly the place to bring up a child. It was only her footsteps she heard for a few seconds until she heard another, she wanted to keep her eyes forward, focus all her attention on not falling over. If it was a vampire then one tiny stumble could lead to her neck being ripped out – but she couldn't help it she had to steal a glance. Gradually she peered over her shoulder and saw the Vampire bounding after her, she even saw Skulduggery being thrown through one of the wooden doors; for a few moments he didn't move but then he sat up, dusted off his hat and stood. Valkyrie ran out through the new hole in the door and helped him. She didn't know if the vampires were dead or not but the one chasing her right now was gaining and fast.

"Oh please god… Save me…" Autumn felt that tingle in her fingers and she tried to imagine making it into a stream of fire, like Skulduggery did in the warehouse. "Please work please work…" Autumn ran towards a set of neatly stacked creates and jumped, planting her right foot down and propelled herself upwards to grab a bar. Gracefully she swung herself round and perched on the top of it seeing Skulduggery and Valkyrie running towards her… Or was it away from the two vampires who were bounding after them? Either way they were heading in this direction, which she thought defeated the purpose of her escape. Autumn sighed and let her gaze drop to see the other vampire springing towards her, with a little yelp she flipped backwards landing on a lower part of the warehouse in a crouch. One thing she was happy about was her choice of hobbies, without them she would be vampire food right now.

She decided it was time to face it, face that there was no way she could escape this. Autumn shut her eyes and stopped running, she could hear Skulduggery and Valkyrie shouting at her, she even heard him curse which she thought was slightly inappropriate but who was she to judge. Autumn took a deep breath and the tingling was stronger this time, it spread through her like wild fire and she flexed her fingers listening intensely to her surroundings, one more bounce and the vampire would be upon her – that's if she gives it a chance. Without delay she spun, her long ginger hair twisting with her. Everything felt like it was in slow motion, she saw Skulduggery wrap his bony arm around Valkyrie and lift off the ground, she saw the other two vampires catching up to join the other and then she turned her attention to the one about to slit her throat. "Not this time…" With one more deep breath she raised her arms holding her palms flat. Blue sparks started to flicker and after what felt like for ever they ignited into the bright blue flame she was beginning to grow accustomed to. "Now it's my turn…" The flame spread all the way up to her shoulders and she narrowed her eyes and snapped her palm, manipulating the fire into sharp streams of fire – Autumn felt the heat radiating from the flames, the brightness from them was astonishing – it illuminated her face and made her eyes sparkle. The flames twisted around her and she brought her arms down using her fingers to manipulate the fire, in the corner of her eye she could see Skulduggery and Valkyrie stepping onto the building.

Autumn swung her arms up and the tendrils of fire stopped twisting around her and slid along her arms and shot forward catching the first vampire in the chest and piercing through it's ice cold skin, the second vampire came at her from the right and she ducked under the swipe and elbowed it's face, catching it in the nose. The tendril that burned through the first vampire recoiled and she brought it back to her hand and used it to reinforce her punch which caused the vampire to tumble backwards and over the side of the roof. The third one caught her off guard and slammed into her, it was strong and she felt herself falling forward, sliding down the side of the roof. The edge was coming at her quickly than she could anticipate and she felt herself falling for a moment before she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and yanked her up. At first she thought it was Skulduggery or even Valkyrie but it wasn't, she had never seen this man before – this man was handsome, almost beautiful if it wasn't for the deep ridged facial scar, he had shoulder length black hair and his skin was as pale like the three vampires she was fighting. He also wore smart black attire which made him look like a goth, she didn't particularly like goths they were always death this and death that, she always found it really annoying.

"You have been causing quite a mess." His voice was deep and harsh as he spoke to her. Over his shoulder she caught the sight of Valkyrie and Skulduggery watching her. The other two vampires had regrouped and were surrounding them now; Skulduggery was most likely to be fine as he had no flesh or blood to tear but Valkyrie… She was in danger and the look on her face right now so was she.

"Who are you…" Autumn felt a cold hand wrap around her throat and the man narrowed his eyes. The lack of oxygen burned her lungs and she manipulated the fire into a ball and she pressed it against his face causing him to cry out and drop her, she was really beginning to get used to this magic thing. When her feet didn't touch the ground her head gazed up to see the roof of the warehouse fly past her and she looked down in time to see herself hurtling quickly to the wet concrete ground below, she was falling and there was no way she could stop herself now.

"Oh no…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**ElenreailSparks:** Mwahahahaha I'm so evil ;) Sorry if you had to wait so long for this chapter, but here it is! Enjoy! :D

* * *

**Chapter ten.**

This was it, most people say that their whole lives flash before their eyes. For her it was the ground rushing towards her, not quite the ending she would have liked; she would have preferred something far more spectacular, like saving someone from a burning building or something stupid like that. Above her she heard the man whose face was burnt by her hand shouting, he seemed to be trying to gain control over the beasts but even she knew that would never happen; all they wanted right now was her blood. Autumn decided she could _try_ to land this, like she taught herself if a similar situation arose. When she hit the ground she bent her knees and rolled and when she tried to come up into a stance she felt the excruciating pain spreading through her legs which sent her to the ground again. Tears ran down her cheeks and she curled up into a ball, her clothes becoming damp because of the recent rain fall. The pain was the worst she has ever felt, it shot through her like lightening and every few seconds she would let out a groan. Autumn opened her eyes briefly to see the vampires land gracefully next to her, saliva dripping from the sharp fangs and down their chins.

"P-please…" She managed to whisper. She was beginning to feel distant from everything now, her eyes drooping as the pain clouded her mind. Oh how she wanted to welcome it; let it spread through her but she couldn't, she had to focus.

The vampire to her left stepped forward and it was shot right between it's black evil eyes, causing it to stumble back and fall to the ground. For a moment she just stared at it, waiting for it to get back to it's feet and leap onto it's attacker – but it didn't, it stayed down and after a few twitches it stopped moving all together. Autumn turned, her head feeling heavy as Skulduggery Pleasant aimed his revolver at the other remaining Vampires. At first they hissed in anger but after a few moments they bounded up to them and the skeleton detective fired and Valkyrie swung dark shadows that pierced through one of the creature's chest. Another one down, this wasn't turning into a bad battle – besides the whole falling off a building and breaking her legs but other than that they were doing well.

While Skulduggery killed the final vampire, Autumn turned her head slowly and gazed to the roof of the warehouse. The man whose face was beginning to heal narrowed his eyes at her before disappearing into the night, at least he left he must have thought he didn't have a chance, he was outnumbered. Finally she can give herself in to the darkness clouding her mind without the fear of her blood being drained from her body or her throat being ripped out. The pain in her legs numbed and she shut her eyes, the last thing she heard before falling into the darkness was one final gunshot.

* * *

Autumn awoke – the pain in her legs was slightly dulled but her body still felt heavy. Now she was lying in a foreign place – not on the floor in the freezing cold, gazing at the dark night sky. This room had clean white walls and the bright lights which gave her a headache. A blue curtain was pulled around her and she sat up to see the strange thing called Nye step into the cubicle. Once it noticed she was awake it froze and blinked a few times.

"Ah… Your awake…"

"W-wh… Where am I…?" Her voice was filled with fear and her eyes were wide. If it was here she was back in the sanctuary which wasn't good because Ghastly might have been down to see her when she was unconscious.

"You're in the Sanctuary, I don't want any trouble and I'm sorry about my previous actions it won't happen again." Nye looked away for a moment before letting its ugly gaze fall upon her. Slowly it stepped forward and moved to the side of the bed she was lying in. "I need to check your injuries… I won't hurt you and I would rather you kept your mouth quiet as I did so, what I mean by that is _no screaming_."

Autumn just stared at him and it sighed impatiently as it waited for an answer. All she did was nod and Nye pulled back the covers and examined her legs.

"Tell me if this hurts." Nye pressed against her leg and she winced a little but it wasn't painful just uncomfortable. "And here." It pressed against her ankle on her other leg and she felt nothing except a little pressure. Once it was sure its work was complete it straightened its posture and looked at her again. "All your bones are healed, the only thing visible now is deep bruising but that will fade in a few hours." Nye left her when she didn't ask any questions and she gazed at her legs, currently she was wearing a pale blue gown – she didn't bother questioning how she got into it, all she wanted to focus on were her legs. The creature was right; there was _a lot_ of bruising but no pain – Autumn ran a finger across a deep purple bruise which occupied most of the space on her thigh, the pain was there but it was more like an ache – perfectly bearable. As she turned to swing her legs off the side of the bed Skulduggery stepped into the cubicle and leaned against a pillar, crossing his arms over his skeleton frame.

"How are you feeling?" His Irish accent was soft and he sounded generally concerned.

"Fine… Thanks." Autumn gazed at him and bit her lip. "Was anyone else injured?" That was something that had been troubling her since she woke up, if someone was hurt or worse killed, because of her she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

"Well I'm fine so that's good. Valkyrie had a few bruises but nothing to worry yourself with." Skulduggery walked over to her and sat beside her on the bed. "Autumn, what you did was stupid and reckless also incredibly foolish, irresponsible and absurd –"

"Yeah… Thanks I get it…" She cut him off before he insulted her further.

"But… What you did was brave, _stupid_ but brave. I never knew you have so much power inside of you." The skeleton tilted his head and nudged her slightly before standing up again. "I think it's a good time to meet Ghastly. I know it's probably not the best time considering you look like you have been dragged behind the back of a truck, but I think someone who can answer all the questions swimming through your head right now will be good for you." Before she could object he strode from the cubicle.

"Charming man…" She muttered before wriggling her toes. How long was she unconscious for? How did Nye heal her so quickly? A sigh escaped her and she turned her head at the sound of approaching footsteps. Swiftly she brushed her fingers through her hair in attempt to neaten it, Skulduggery's comment hardly made her feel comfortable with this meeting. She would have preferred to have a shower first; or at least have a quick glimpse in the mirror to see if she really did look as bad as he made out.

The footsteps got louder and stopped, she could hear Skulduggery talking and another voice, a familiar voice. Ghastly pulled back the curtain and she looked up to gaze at him, he still looked exactly the same as he did all those years ago – he hadn't aged a day, not even one tiny wrinkle. His eyes widened at the sight of her and she forced herself to smile, she would have liked to meet him under slightly different circumstances but she is grateful for the chance either way, even if she did run away from it the last time.

"Grace…" Ghastly didn't move, he just stood there and stared.

"Hello Ghastly…" Autumn bit her lip nervously and looked down at her legs. After a few moments of silence he made his way towards her and she slid off the bed to greet him but stumbled, instantly he was there wrapping his strong arm around her waist to stop her from falling. "Thanks…" her voice was quiet as she put her feet on the ground, her hands still gripping his arm until she was sure she wouldn't fall over again.

"I… I thought you were dead…" His voice was as gentle as she remembered, so comforting.

Autumn turned to look at him, he was still taller than her but at least she could look at him properly now without having to stand on a box. "It's a long story… Basically my mind was made to forget but I never truly did – it was just… Locked away from me, away from reach; but when I came back to Dublin I began to feel different, strange things happened and eventually my memories came back to me…" Her eyes began to fill with tears and she blinked a few times to make them disappear.

"I blamed myself for your death for years… For your parent's deaths…"

"No." She cut him off and he gazed down at her, "No… It wasn't your fault, they were murdered… Ghastly you couldn't protect me from everything…"

The elder looked down and she placed a hand on his cheek, running her thumb across one of his scars. "Don't be sad… This should be a happy moment…" Autumn couldn't hold them back anymore, tear's streamed down her cheeks and she wrapped her arms around him and he lifted her a few inches off the ground, his strong arms embracing her.

"Grace I have missed you so much…" Ghastly's voice was muffled as he pressed his face into her shoulder, this is what her parent's would have wanted – her mother knew Ghastly would help her, protect her, treat her like family and she was right. Before Autumn didn't know how much she really truly missed him but now he was here with her, all her feelings rushed back to her.

Ghastly placed her gently back on the ground and she let her arms fall to her sides. "Actually… It's not Grace anymore."

"You took a name…?" He looked at her slightly stunned.

"I had to; Marcus Ruess was using my name to make do whatever he told me to do." She turned her head to see Valkyrie and Skulduggery standing there, watching the two of them.

"So, what did you chose?"

"Autumn Strife… It seemed to fit my personality perfectly."

Ghastly stood there in silence and crossed his arms. "You can't leave this world anymore… This Ruess character will do nothing to get his hands on you…"

"I know; that's why I need to be ready. Whatever I did on that roof top last night, It felt right."

All three of them stared at them and Valkyrie coughed slightly. "Uh… You have been out for three days…"

Autumn just gazed at her, her jaw dropping. "Three… Three days?!"

"Your injuries were quite severe. You did fall off a warehouse after all – it was highly unlikely that you were going to escape with a minor abrasion." Skulduggery stated still in his bubble of calm.

Autumn narrowed her eyes in irritation and sighed gruffly. "Well that's just great isn't it."


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**ElenreailSparks:** Awwwww thank you! I'm so glad your still reading this! It makes me happy! *dances* I wanted a nice cute connection between Autumn and Ghastly, sorta a contrast to the relationship Valkyrie and Skulduggery has (they hide there emotions) Me evil... Nah hahaha. Your great too! :D Enjoy this chapter :) x

**Ignis Recreant**: Howdy - Thank you! Means a lot. You know... That turkey has been awfully quiet recently... I think it died... O.O

**This is a long one - sorry! Hope you enjoy it though! :) x**

* * *

**Chapter 11.**

Autumn stood there in silence for a while until Nye walked back into the cubicle, ducking slightly before stepping in front of her. She still can't get her mind around this creature, its arms and legs were taller than she was and the fact it didn't have a nose, just a scab where it didn't heal – which she found rather peculiar because it was a medical genius after all.

"_You_ need to rest." It's yellow eyes narrowed as it looked her up and down before turning to the three others in the area. "You all need to leave. I need to do a few more tests."

"Actually… What I would really like is some new clothes that aren't burned and a shower…" Autumn bit her lip and gazed at the ground, rubbing the back of her neck. This side of Nye was contained but the side she saw and experienced earlier still made her skin crawl, she would rather not agitate the creature, the pain in her back was gone and that's the way she would like to keep it. Ghastly turned to her and brushed past Nye.

"Well I have a shower in my own quarters and the new clothes part… Well I suppose I could make you some but until there ready I'm sure Skulduggery can go back to your apartment with Valkyrie and pick up some bits and pieces."

The detective tilted his head and crossed his arms again. "Can I now? How do you know I'm free to do so? I could be doing something _very_ important after this."

"Well I didn't want to do this Skulduggery but…"

"Don't do it Ghastly…"

"I'm sorry but that's an order." Ghastly grinned a smug smile and held back a laugh. Skulduggery just let his arms fall down to his sides and let out a deep sigh, shaking his head.

"This isn't over…" The detective looked at Valkyrie who was sucking in her checks to stop herself from laughing. "Valkyrie, let's go do this deed. But when I come back… Ghastly—"

"Just Ghastly? Use the right title Skulduggery." The elder cut him off before he could finish.

Skulduggery muttered a curse under his breath before bowing. "I'm sorry your holiness."

Valkyrie waved to Autumn and Ghastly before strolling after Skulduggery. Autumn did feel bad and Ghastly must have picked up on that because he ordered Nye out of the room.

"Grace… I mean Autumn. This is probably a little strange for you? Am I right?" He paused as he pulled the curtain across, hiding them from prying eyes. "And I wouldn't worry about Skulduggery, were only having a little fun – he will get me back later." He smiled and sat on the bed, tapping the empty space beside him. Autumn walked over to the bed, her bare feet cool against the tiled floor, before hopping onto it.

"I just… after everything that's happened – I'm struggling to interpret it all, it's all happening to fast. My parent's murder… Being kidnapped and nearly ripped to pieces by three vampires…" Autumn sighed and brought her knees up to her chest, pulling the gown down so he didn't see anything.

"I can understand that your confused with the situation, if I had known you were alive I would have taken you into my care, when you disappeared it hit me hard – nobody knew if you died or missing. We searched for you for years, Skulduggery and myself I mean. But whoever took you covered up any possible leads or trails." Ghastly lowered his gaze and the lighting played with the scars on his face. Autumn blinked back a few tears and she leaned her head on his strong broad shoulders, even with her adoptive parents she never felt close to them. In her opinion they just felt like protectors, not family – but with Ghastly she never really forgot, deep down that he was important to her.

"You tried your best, I knew you would and you couldn't have tried harder – but the thing is, I'm here now and we can't dwell on the past… We have to look at what's happening now…"

Autumn felt the arm wrapping around her shoulders, she felt the warmth radiating off his skin and she welcomed it, leaning into him a little. "I would have protected you against this lunatic – why did you run off the other day? I don't remember you being scared of me, even when you were a child, you always found me… _cuddly_ not scary."

Autumn laughed and smiled. "Well… I wasn't ready – I guess I was afraid of coming face to face with someone I haven't seen in years. I feared that you wouldn't remember me…"

"I could never forget you Autumn, Your like family to me. You even called me Uncle Ghastly when you were little." He chuckled at the memory and looked at her, kissing her forehead.

"I did…? Huh don't remember that." She grinned winking playfully before wrapping her arms around him again. "I don't know what to do, this… power I don't how to control it. Whatever happened on the roof top was sheer luck."

The elder hugged back before pulling away. "I heard about that, according to Valkyrie and Skulduggery they have seen nothing like it. We just need to figure out how to control it." For a moment he went silent and he stood, rubbing his chin. "You mother left me something a long time ago… I have it somewhere. Why don't we take a walk down to my living quarters and I will find it while you clean yourself up. You do look _dreadful._"

Autumn narrowed her eyes and grabbed the blanket off the bed, wrapping herself in it. "Thanks… You know exactly how to cheer me up don't you." She muttered, walking past him and pulling the curtain back.

"Oh stop being so grumpy." Ghastly said, a smile in his voice before following her out the cubicle.

* * *

Valkyrie buckled herself into the Bentley, she loved it when Ghastly pulled the 'I'm an elder of this sanctuary and you will follow my orders.' Card. Skulduggery has got to the stage of finding it annoying but after a few years, she most definitely found it hilarious – she always had to try and boost his ego afterwards. It was as if his mother just shouted at him and sent him for a time out. The detective gazed at her while adjusting one of the side mirrors.

"Your still smiling." He muttered.

Valkyrie tried to stop but it only made her smile more. "I am? I hadn't noticed, I will try and sort it out straight away."

"You do that." Skulduggery turned the key in the ignition and the car came to life, the two of them were still surprised that it was still intact; the amount of times this car has been in a crash is impressive. The mechanic said that if the car experienced any more damage, then he wouldn't be able to save it – so because of that Skulduggery always took a bit more caution when driving.

It didn't take long to get to Autumn's flat, the door was fixed and so was the kitchen window. One thing they forgot to pick up were the keys so Skulduggery had to pick the lock, a few people looked at them funny but Valkyrie nudged him to hurry up. Once he was in he stepped inside her turned to look at his companion who was currently closing the door.

"Okay, you go get the clothes."

"What? Why me?"

"Well I'm a man… Male skeleton… It would be a little odd to go rummage through her closet would it not?" The detective walked into the living area and sat on the couch, leaving Valkyrie to do the job _he _was told to do. With a sigh she strolled into Autumn's bedroom and looked around, studying the choice of furnishings.

"Not bad…" She muttered before walking to her wardrobe, when she opened it she looked at the clothes inside and nodded. She didn't have bad fashion sense either, similar to her own. At the bottom of the wardrobe was a bag and she dumped it on the bed, grabbing some clean matching underwear and stuffing them inside. What was the point in folding it? She was only going to put them on anyway. Swiftly she grabbed some dark blue skinny jeans and a check shirt – also stuffing them in the bag, Valkyrie decided Autumn would want some socks so she put them in the bag too. Just as she walked out the room she saw some converses and she picked them up and threw them in with the other clothes – she was sure this would suffice, if not Autumn can come back and get what she wants.

Skulduggery got off the sofa and met her in the hallway. "Ready?" Valkyrie nodded. "Good, let's go." The detective opened the door and clicked on the lock before shutting it when they were both outside. As they walked towards the car Skulduggery stopped and looked at a man standing across the road from them, he seemed to be the one that kidnapped her, Ruess if he was correct. Names weren't particularly important to him, whenever he learnt them they ended up dead so he decided it was a waste of his time.

Valkyrie was about to walk over but he disappeared. "Where did he go?" She gazed at her partner and he shrugged getting back into the Bentley.

"Come on; we don't want to keep his lordship waiting." The detective closed the door and she walked to the other side and closed the door, she barely had her seat belt on before he started to drive.

* * *

As they walked the corridors of the Sanctuary Autumn felt the eyes on her, some sorcerers stared and whispered – others simply walked past her ignoring her existence. With the feeling of insecurity she walked a little closer to Ghastly and tightened the blanket that was wrapped round her, she looked terrible and she hated it. After about five minutes of walking, Ghastly opened the door to his living quarters and she stepped inside.

"The bathroom is over there, fresh towels are on the radiator." He smiled to her and strolled to his bedroom, leaving her to her business. That was one of the many reasons why she liked Ghastly; he knew when to go away.

"Thanks." She yelled and walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower. Autumn let the blanket fall and she shut the door, locking it behind her before removing the gown. On the back of the door was a fall length mirror and she caught her reflection, causing her to stop and gaze at herself. Dark bruises covered her body, the smaller ones were already fading but the ones on her ribs, back and legs were still quite prominent. Autumn ran her finger across a bruise on her rib and bit her lip – she didn't know she was injured so severely. Skulduggery was right; falling off a building really does leave a mark.

In advance Autumn tested the temperature of the shower before stepping underneath it's warm spray. She didn't want any more marks. When she was happy with the temperature, she stepped into the shower and pulled across the curtain, letting the hot water drench her hair causing it to stick to her scalp and face. A sigh left her and she picked up some shower gel and squeezed some on her hand and started to wash her body, she now smelt like citrus instead of blood and sweat. Her hair was the next issue, Ghastly was bald so he found no need in using shampoo, after a few minutes she found some – why he had some was odd but she didn't debate with the issue too long, she was just glad she could wash her hair.

Once she was happy that she was clean, Autumn stepped out the shower and wrapped the warm soft towel around her and stepped out the bathroom seeing Ghastly sitting at a small desk with a sowing machine placed upon it. He looked up from what he was doing and laughed.

"You look like a drowned cat…" He laughed louder and Autumn just crossed her arms and tapped her bare foot on the wooden floor.

"Oh ha ha… Very funny. I was going to ask for a hairdryer but then I remembered… You don't have any hair." She narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Ghastly smiled and stood, walking towards her.

"Even if I did, wouldn't need one any way."

"Oh, you like the messy tramp look then?" She grinned and chuckled slightly.

"Oh definitely, can you tell by my tacky choice of attire?" The elder laughed and she began to feel the moisture lift from her skin and hair.

"How… How are you doing that…?" Autumn gazed at the multiple droplets that surrounded her. Her body was dry and so was her hair, which fell down to the middle of her back in soft waves.

"Elemental magic, I will explain it to you when your clothes arrive." Ghastly wondered back to the sowing machine just as Valkyrie and Skulduggery wondered through the door. Once again she tightened the towel and Valkyrie handed her the bag containing her clothes and shoes.

"Thanks Valkyrie." Autumn grinned and strolled back into the bathroom. Returning once she was fully dressed. The four of them stood there in silence for a moment and Ghastly stood, picking up a box he had on the side.

"You mother gave me this years ago, it belonged to your great, great, _great_ grandmother. I don't know what it is but I was told to give it to you when the time was right… I guess now's the right time." The elder handed her the box and she sat down next to Valkyrie who had made herself comfortable on the sofa while Skulduggery perched on the arm.

"Um… Thanks…" Autumn saw every one looking at her, waiting for her to open the box. At first she hesitated but then she lifted off the lid and a silver bracelet in the shape of a serpent lay inside. To her it was the most beautiful piece of jewellery she has ever seen, it had intricate carvings and symbols engraved into it and the diamonds and eyes were the blackest jewels which sparkled in the light. "Wow…" They were all surrounding her now, Valkyrie was leaning closer to her, Ghastly was sitting beside her and Skulduggery was standing in front of her staring down at the bracelet. Carefully she took out the jewellery and pushed up her shirt sleeve.

"Wait…" The detective took it out of her hands and she stood up, snatching it back.

"This is mine… It's just jewellery it's not going to make me combust." Autumn glared at him and Valkyrie stood next to him and Ghastly also rose from the chair to stand next to his friend.

"Autumn that was your great… whatever grandmother right?" The detective looked down at her.

"Didn't you hear Ghastly? Yes it is. Why?" She looked at him and watched him whisper something to Ghastly before speaking again.

"You grandmother was a powerful necromancer…. The only way she could harness the death magic, was to place their power into an object."

"Necromancy? What are you getting at Skulduggery?" Autumn was getting confused now, what were they trying to say?

"What I'm trying to say is… That bracelet was her object – it's possible that if you put on that bracelet… you could injure yourself. As sometimes the object wields to its owner and you aren't the owner…"

Valkyrie began to understand now, Baron Vengeous had to wear special garments when wearing Vile's armour because the power was raw enough to sear his flesh and boil his blood – she didn't know if it would do something similar to Autumn.

"What? You're being ridiculous, it's just a bracelet." She rolled her eyes and slid it onto her wrist. Suddenly she felt cold, the metal on her skin felt freezing and she began to feel strange – a tingle coursed through her and she took a step back trying to remove the bracelet but she couldn't, it was stuck to her now. "Get it off me!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer in Chapter one.**

**Reviews: **

**Sarah Carter**: HEWRO SARAH! :D Hehehe. I'm sooooo happy you liked it! And I'm sure you will LOVE this one, you are in the chapter after all ;) Love you 5Ever!

**Chapter is dedicated to my bested bud Sarah Carter. Hope you like it ;) 3xxx**

* * *

**Chapter 12**.

Autumn stumbled backwards, toppling over the back of the sofa and landing on her back awkwardly. The bracelet was still firmly wrapped around her wrist, as if it the serpent really was alive and was twisting itself around its prey to strangle it to death. Come to think of it, she is beginning to become fully aware of her dislike of snakes. Ghastly yanked her to her feet and this buzzing feeling was making her restless, causing a vase to smash onto the floor, shattering on impact. The elder sighed and tried getting his fingers underneath the trinket in attempt to pry it away from her skin – it was no use, she felt the cold taking over her and her mind began to feel dark, miserable… evil.

She could hear Valkyrie yelling at her, she was shouting something like… Stay in control, you control it not the other way round. Like that was supposed to help. The darkness was beginning to seep out of the bracelet now and she stumbled away from Ghastly, clutching her arm and shaking it. She didn't know why she thought that would work but she was panicking, people do stupid things when they panic. Autumn looked up to gaze at them, Valkyrie was still shouting orders, Skulduggery was buffing his gun as if this was her own fault and she should deal with the situation on her own; she briefly heard the comment, "She got into the situation, she can get out of it." Autumn growled and angry rose within her and she lifted her hand to shout at him but instead dark shadows shot towards him and hit him full on the chest which then threw him backwards over a small chair to hit the far wall, quite hard too.

"Skulduggery… I didn't…" she whimpered, that's it – this wasn't happening again not this time not ever. Somewhere inside her was that fire and it was bright and warm, the only thing that would rid of the darkness, or so she thought anyway. After a few moments of searching she felt the warm tingle spread through her and she welcomed it, embraced it and took control. Instead of the shadows whipping around her, they slowed and began to gently drift back into the bracelet – the only hint that she was using another power was the burning blue glow in her eyes.

"Well looks like you didn't need my help after all." Valkyrie just watched her gain control, completely ignoring Skulduggery who was clambering up off the floor.

Autumn blinked a few times and the bracelet loosened its death grip and returned to a normal item of jewellery. Whatever she did, she was in control of it now; she still felt the cool metal against her skin but all the dark thoughts, the misery was burned up by the fire within her and now she really understood the urgency of the situation. Autumn needed to train herself, she needed to become the dominant one – she needed to learn how to wield this power that surged through her.

Slowly, nervously, she looked up and forced a smile. The three of them were staring, Ghastly had his arms crossed and muttered "I told you she could do it." She was pretty sure she heard Skulduggery curse something rude to him but she ignored it. Valkyrie was staring at her; the only emotion she was expressing was surprise.

"I'm sorry… I should have listened to you but I didn't and I know… Your always right blah blah blah but I don't understand this world…" She paused and took a step forward and the detective took a step back. "But… I'm willing to learn, as long as you three will teach me…?"

The three of them stood silently for a moment before a large heavy knocking on the door could be heard. Without confirmation a young girl walked in, she looked the same age as Autumn but she couldn't be certain. The girl has light blonde hair and her eyes were the palest silver she has ever seen – she was slender and the most identifying characteristic she had were the light blue symbols and patterns that were tattooed into her skin, they spread from the very ends of her finger tips; up her arms and ended at her collar bones. On most people it would seem horrifying to Autumn but on this person – they seemed to work somehow.

"Aqua Moon! What have I told you about barging in here without me saying the words, _come in?"_ The elder walked forward and the blonde girl shied away from him.

"I'm sorry Elder Bespoke… Sir. But I heard a smash and then a large bang; I came as quickly as I could to investigate…" Her voice was English like Autumn's and Skulduggery walked past her and towards Aqua.

"Why are you here anyway? Your China's student are you not? Aren't you supposed to be… sorting books or making tea?" The detective tilted his head at her and brushed some dust off his shoulder.

Aqua immediately tensed up, her fist clenched ready to strike. "I don't s_ort_ books skeleton or make tea… Actually sometimes I do but still I am a trained sorcerer. You idiot." From the facts she has gathered so far, she can tell the detective and her don't get on to well.

"Does he always do this? Wind her up?" Autumn whispered to Valkyrie who was now standing at her elbow.

"Well… Whenever she is around, yes." Valkyrie looked at her and smiled slightly, changing the subject. "Necromancy is a dangerous discipline, I know some things that I am willing to teach you but I'm not promising A* results."

"I'm not expecting A* results, I'm more of a B grade student." She grinned and Valkyrie laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Then I expect we will be just fine." The two of them turned their attention back to the two bickering children just in time to see Ghastly intervene.

"I'm going to bang your heads together in a minute if you don't stop arguing!" The elder raised his voice slightly as he puffed his chest up so he looked bigger, scarier.

Straight away Aqua returned to a normal bubbly state and completely ignored Skulduggery. "Actually there was another reason I came here… I can't quite remember what it was…" Aqua's attention swayed for a moment as she stroked her chin, imitating a beard. "It was something about cats… I think it was cats… Bats maybe… Rats?..."

"Tw—" Skulduggery was about to say before Ghastly stopped him.

"I have a feeling it wasn't _that_ word."

Skulduggery shrugged, loosing complete interest in their petty argument. He will carry it on when Ghastly wasn't around.

"Anyway… how's your training going with China? I see you have added more tattoos." Ghastly gestured to her collar bones and the blonde girl immediately smiled.

"Yeah! They were done yesterday, I haven't started to use them just yet though but all my magic is strengthening, which is great. But China has been quite… I dunno, distant? It's like something really important is on her mind but every time I ask – she just smiles and changes the subject." Aqua stuffed her hands into her pockets and when Ghastly wasn't looking she stuck out her tongue at Skulduggery. The detective just stood there, tilted his head and walked away – standing beside Valkyrie.

"Well, I'm sure whatever it is – it will pass. China isn't one to dwell on a problem for long, she will solve the issue soon I'm sure."

To Autumn, she now saw the side of Ghastly who knew exactly what to say to make someone feel better, at first she was surprised to find Ghastly was in charge of something big, he didn't like ordering people around but as he spoke to Aqua… He became the person the blonde girl wanted him to be, and currently it was comforting.

While the two of them were talking Autumn whispered to Valkyrie, she had wanted to ask this question for a while now. "Are her tattoos… Magic or something?" it was a stupid question and she knew it but still she was curious to know the answer.

"Well—" Valkyrie began before Skulduggery interrupted.

"Aqua is an adept – her magic is wielded through the symbols etched into her skin, each symbol can be used as an offense or a defence tactic, for example some will hurl out shockwave energy and others will boost her speed or strength. Though unlike China she chose to show her tattoos, China's are invisible." The detective stood there, still as ever and the two girls gazed at him. Valkyrie rolled her eyes and looked back at Autumn.

"What he said."

Autumn smiled and looked back at the girl, her eyes still amazed her – in her opinion they resembled the moon because it reflected any light that hit them, giving them the appearance of a slight glow.

Aqua stood there and nodded, her hair bouncing over her face causing her to brush her fringe back. "I understand… I think…"

Ghastly's head slumped forward and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do I have to go over it _again?"_

"No… No I have it, if I forget which I will – I will get China to call you." Aqua smiled and bowed her head before leaving. The elder clicked the door shut behind her and locked it, making sure no one else strolled in without his permission. Ghastly turned and clasped his hands together, rubbing them.

"Right, where were we?"

Autumn stood there in silence as did Valkyrie. The only person who spoke was Skulduggery but that was no surprise, he always had something to say.

"Autumn was going to apologise for throwing me into a wall." The detective peered round his partner and tilted his head, waiting.

"You're a very hard man to like Mr Pleasant…" Autumn paused and sighed, tucking her ginger hair behind her ear. "My deepest apologies Skulduggery, I didn't mean to throw you into a wall…" She stepped in front of him and looked up with the sincerest of faces. "Next time I will aim for a window." She grinned and skipped over to Ghastly who was smiling.

Autumn could see the smile trying to spread across Valkyries face and Skulduggery just stood there, silent before he crossed his arms. "I have a feeling about you and I…"

"You do?" The red haired girl raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Oh yes. I now agree to training you in magic and in combat." He stepped forward, leaning over her. "But more in combat, it would be nice to show you that I'm better than you. Obviously I already am, but just in case you didn't already know. You're hardly the brightest button in the box."

Before she could retaliate, the detective strolled over to the door. "Well I would love to sit down and talk to you both but we have a job to do. Whoever this Ruess is, he want's you for a reason and it's our job, as _detectives_ to solve this mystery." The skeleton unlocked the door and walked out; Valkyrie looked at Autumn and smiled.

"Sorry about him, he is a bit dramatic sometimes. I will come see you later." Valkyrie walked out the room and shut the door, leaving Ghastly and Autumn to talk.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

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**Oh wait I have none... PLEASE REVIEW MY STORY! I NEED AND LOVE FEEDBACK! :'( **

* * *

**Chapter 13.**

Ghastly offered Autumn tea, filling the kettle before letting it boil. When Skulduggery and Valkyrie was gone, she felt the pressure lift from her shoulders. It wasn't that she was scared of _them_, it was more like… scared of what they _thought_ about her. Ghastly told her not to worry about Skulduggery, apparently on the brief occasions that the two of them met when she was younger, she always argued with him and ran off with his hat and hid it somewhere. For a detective though, he took a really long time finding it. Autumn just listened to the sounds that surrounded her, the clattering of the cups – the bubbling of the kettle and somewhere in the room was a fly tapping on a wall, attempting to escape.

Eventually Ghastly strolled over and handed her the cup, he mentioned it would be hot but she didn't care. Her fingers wrapped around the mug and at first she felt the burning heat but then it just disappeared like it didn't have any effect on her what so ever.

"So…" The elder shifted slightly in the seat beside her, gazing at the clock on the wall. It was 5'oclock in the morning and he was exhausted. Autumn lifted her gaze from the milky steaming liquid in the striped cup to gaze at him, he could see she was tired; dark circles were under her eyes, her skin was pale and she slumped awkwardly on the sofa.

"Autumn do you want to rest? You look like you might keel over any second." Ghastly took the tea from her hands and placed it on the coffee table. She didn't even look like she was in the right frame of mind to reply to him, let alone move. Gently he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her with ease, her head laid limply on his shoulder as her eyes drifted shut. For a moment he just stood there, smiling down at her watching her sleep – the last time he held her in his arms was when she was a child; it was nice to have her company again. Slowly he walked to his bedroom and he placed her on the bed, removing her shoes before pulling the duvet over her tiny frame. While she was here, he would sleep on the sofa but right now he was going to start on her clothes and present them to her when she wakens.

Just before he shut the door behind him, he peeked in one last time before leaving her – shutting the door with a quiet _click_. Ghastly turned from the door and walked over to the far wall which was covered with different hanging materials; for a brief moment he stopped, crossing his arms in thought. Would she prefer bright clothes or… The elder shook his head and took out a black material to make the jacket, he would add colour to the lining of the jacket, perhaps even add a pattern in there somewhere just so it wasn't boring, which was unlikely because the things he made were never boring.

* * *

Ruess had to move his headquarters because well, it wasn't exactly the best place to go was it? The villain strolled into an old house which was cleverly placed opposite Serpine's Castle. While he deactivated the alarms and barriers surrounding the area, he would move in there – this was after he managed to retrieve the girl. Never trust infected, he didn't know why he did but Dusk has done well to control them before, but this time… Well he just let them roam free – what an imbecile. Marcus sighed and slumped against the only chair in the dark, damp living room. His men were supposed to be here by now, well delivered it would have taken them ages to arrive if they walked – they are made of paper and revolting gases after all. He ordered around one hundred hollow men yesterday, as a precaution. The house was big enough to hold them so that was fine, Dusk was out recruiting so that meant extra strength, this _child _would not escape him again.

A heavy knock on the door caused him to fall off the chair and scramble up to his feet, as if nothing happened he flattened down a crease in his shirt and strolled proudly to the door and waved his hand, deactivating a glowing symbol engraved in the thick wood.

"Who is it?" He called from behind, his hand gripping the rusted handle.

"Mr Ruess? It's Jeffery Smite, I have you're order of…" He paused and Ruess could hear the rustling of papers on the other side of the door. "One hundred hollow men?"

Marcus began to smile and he unlocked the door gazing up at the large man. Smite was tall and well built, obviously hired as muscle and a delivery man in case anyone refused to pay their fees. Quite a good idea, Ruess wondered why they didn't think of it sooner. Swiftly he removed the amount of cash that needed to be paid and gave it to Smite, who smiled and nodded to him.

"Where do you want them to go?" He asked, looking at the crumbling building.

Ruess waved his hand and a large section of a wall opened up, leading into a large garden. "Order them in there; tell me when you are done." Normally he would have waited around to see his order through, but Dusk was waiting at the end of the path and he didn't look happy. Well, he never looked happy but tonight he looked especially unhappy.

"Dusk, I hope you have recruited people you can actually _control._"

The vampire stood straighter and suddenly, ten people appeared behind him. The only thing that indicated to him that these people were now dead, or near enough – was the blood staining their shirts and the hanging bits of torn flesh on their now pale necks. "Hmm… You've done well." Ruess walked past him, a wide smile on his ugly face. The mortals he chose were all men, but not just _normal_ men. These men were huge, some of them towered of Ruess himself, not just that their muscles nearly bulged from their shirts which caused another smile.

"Are these good enough?" Dusk was beside him now, the only thing they shared were an ugly scar and a passion for destruction.

"I do believe a pat on the back is in order. You have exceeded yourself – I'm impressed." Ruess slammed his hand into the vampires back and Dusk didn't even flinch, he just turned his head and narrowed his dark eyes.

"Do. Not. Touch me." Before Ruess could recoil his arm, the vampire turned on his heel and wondered into the house, his recruits following him with incredible grace.

"Well… Someone hasn't taken their serum." He muttered before Jeffery Smite strolled up to him.

"All the hollow men are in the garden as you asked. I will now take my leave if that's everything?" Smite extended his hand and Ruess just looked at him, rolled his eyes and walked past him. "What a charming fellow…" Smite sighed and walked back to his truck, starting the engine and drove into the night.

* * *

Autumn woke up rather abruptly, sitting up in a rush – her face sticky with sweat. A nightmare, showing her a repeat of the events four days ago. She felt everything, the fear, the rush, the feeling of her heart beat attempting to burst from her chest – it all returned to her in one huge wave of emotion. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, pulling the covers off her. Before she stood, she stopped to study her surroundings – this was unfamiliar, she didn't remember coming in here? After a few seconds in deep thought, she remembered Ghastly's arms around her, carrying her. After that she didn't remember anything, she must have fallen asleep.

Swiftly she placed her feet on the floor and saw her shoes at the bottom of the bed which caused her to smile as she pulled them on. Her heart was still beating quickly but she knew she was safe, Ghastly was here now and he would never let anything happen to her. Slowly she stood and walked to the door, opening it and seeing Ghastly hunched over on his desk, snoring quietly. Autumn couldn't help but grin, it was nice to see him so peaceful without worry in his eyes or a false smile on his face.

Quietly she walked past him and began picking up the bits of a broken vase that smashed yesterday, carrying the larger pieces in her hand and dropping them in the bin. For a few minutes she rummaged in the cupboards and finally found a dustpan and brush, carefully she swept up the smaller pieces and dropped them in the bin. Ghastly was still fast asleep and she wandered over to him, carefully lifting his head and placing a pillow underneath it; she then strolled into the bedroom, picked up a blanket and walked back into the room, draping it over him before checking the clock. It was 10:30 in the morning and as she turned the door knocked and she jumped, gazing back at Ghastly who stirred, lifted his head and fell back asleep. Just as the knocked began again she opened the door widely to see the dark haired man named… Erskine Ravel. His dark handsome features widened slightly and looked her up and down, coughing slightly.

"Oh… I do apologise, I didn't know Ghastly had company."

Autumn raised an eyebrow and stepped out the room and into the corridor, shutting the door shut behind her. "There's no need to apologise Mr…"

"Erskine Ravel. Grand Mage of this Sanctuary." He extended his hand and she shook it politely.

"Ah, I see. Well Ghastly is currently asleep and I would rather you didn't wake him – it's been a rather rough night." Autumn smiled and she leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms. The grand mage raised an eyebrow and watched her warily.

"And who might you be?"

"Where are my manners, Autumn Strife your almighty holiness sir." She curtsied and he held back a smile and scoffed.

"No need for such dramatics."

Autumn straightened and she grinned widely. "Sorry, well if you wouldn't mind him sleeping a little longer. Until midday, I would be really grateful."

Erskine looked at her and pursed his lips, sucking in a deep breath. "I think I can allow that Miss Strife." For a moment she felt his gaze on her, watching her carefully as if she would strike at any passing moment.

"Well if that's everything? I would like to go about my business." Autumn walked past him and he followed, walking quickly to keep up.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, his robe sweeping behind him.

"My house, I need to get some things." She gazed at him, wondering why he was still walking beside her.

"I can't let you do that I'm afraid. Ghastly was pretty clear with his orders." The grand mage smiled, he knew who she was from the very beginning.

"Excuse me? I don't care if you are mister high and mighty. You cannot and will not stop me from doing something I wish to do." She didn't stop walking, but Ravel extended his arm and she stopped, turned slowly and grabbed his arm – flipped him over her hip and slammed him into the ground causing the air to leave him.

"Oww…" Ravel growled slightly and slipped his arms out of the robe standing up.

"Sorry… But I have a few issues with trust at the moment. Don't take it personally." Autumn was about to start walking but a gust of air knocked her off her feet and she fell onto the ground, landing on her back to gaze at the concrete roof. "That… Was unexpected."

"Please don't do anything you regret. I was told by Ghastly that I was not allowed to let you leave."

"So does that mean you can strike a woman?" She sat up, anger in her eyes. It had been building up for a while and now he had started this, she was going to let it free.

"I didn't strike you… The wind did." Ravel straightened and sighed deeply. "Can we not do this; just walk back to Ghastly's quarters and this will all end without anyone being harmed."

With a clench of her fist, she took a deep shaky breath and rubbed her eyes. He was no harm to her; it was Ruess who she needed to focus on. "You're right… I'm sorry." Autumn looked at him as he extended an arm to help her stand, she took it gratefully.

"Next time I won't go so easy on you." He winked and she couldn't help but laugh, she even blushed slightly.

"Oh really? Well next time don't wuss out and use magic. If you tried beating me in combat, you would lose." She smiled brightly and he returned the grin.

"I will hold you to that." Erskine bowed his head and picked up his robe. "I have to go, I will return at midday to wake Ghastly. As you asked." And with that, he left walking down the corridor and disappearing behind a corner.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**Sarah Carter:** Hewro buddie! ;) Awww thankies! I'm glad you liked it. And yes, I kick old man ass ;) xxxx

**ElenreailSparks**: YOUR BACK! *Hugs you* Thank you! I have missed your reviews! Haha. Erskine eh? ;) He might be in this a lot more I hope - which will be good for you ;) Yeah Aqua does doesn't she haha, but she doesn't do stupid things lol. Thanks for reviewing again! :D Enjoy this chapter!

**Okay - I wasn't too sure on this chapter but I hope you all enjoy it! x**

* * *

**Chapter 14****.**

Autumn was tempted to carry on with her plans to go home, but she decided against it. Ghastly would have to get up soon and she was pretty sure if he wasn't wakened gently and with a cup of tea, he was going to be grumpy for the rest of the day. Quietly she opened the door and smiled, he was still fast asleep and she decided to sit and practise her powers until it was time for him to wake up. Quietly she made her way over to the couch and sat crossed legged on it, kicking off her shoes.

"Right… How do I do this…" her voice was quiet and she tried conjuring a flame, like she had seen Skulduggery do. Autumn took a few deep breaths, calming her mind before focusing on the fire inside of her. Once she found it she directed it to her hand and sparks began to flicker before her hand was covered with vivid blue fire. In surprise she squealed and swung her hand to dry and put out the flame, but it just sent a ball of fire onto the carpet. "No…!" Quickly she jumped up and started stamping her foot down to put out the fire. Once it was out she saw the black singed mark on the carpet and she fell onto the sofa, pressing her face into a cushion. _Great_ she thought as she let out a muffled groan into the cushion, this wasn't exactly what she planned – Ghastly was going to go crazy, the man was a crazy man went it came to organisation and mess.

Autumn must have dozed off as when she woke up it was noon and somebody was knocking at the door. When she stood she walked over to the kettle and switched it on, letting the water boil as she wandered over to the door. When she opened it Erskine Ravel was standing the tapping his watch.

"It's time for Ghastly to wake up." When he looked at her, he raised an eyebrow and grinned – holding back a laugh.

She sighed and looked at him, her eyes finally focusing. "What are you finding so funny…?"

"Oh… Nothing…" He chuckled and she rolled her eyes and walked back to the kitchen and took out two cups.

"Tea?" she called as he walked into the room, leaning against a kitchen countertop. For a moment he was silent, she guessed it was a pretty hard question to ask and it must have taken a while for him to figure it out.

"Sure. Shall I wake Ghastly?" The Grand Mage straightened and she watched him, peeking round the corner.

"Good luck." She muttered before taking out another cup before dropping a tea bag in each one. While she waited for the kettle she caught her reflection in the metal tin, her hair was a mess! It looked like she had just been dragged backwards through a hedge. After she sorted her hair the water boiled and she finished making the tea, walking into the living room, handing Ravel a mug as he just stood there, watching the fellow elder. "What are you doing?"

Erskine smiled and held the cup and tilted his head. "Well… Actually the last time I woke him up he got really annoyed with me. So I decided it would be safer for me to let you do it."

"Oh well… Thanks – you're too kind." Autumn rolled her eyes and placed the tea on the coffee table, sighing as she walked over to Ghastly. "Ghastly… Time to wake up… Don't kill me… It's all Erskine's fault… Blame him…" Quickly she nudged him and took a step back, standing behind Ravel who glared at her.

"You are a very evil person…" he whispered as Ghastly woke up, clenched his fists and turned to see the grand mage standing there, staring at him. "Morning sunshine…"

Ghastly stretched his arms above his head, stood and walked towards Ravel who tensed up and shut his eyes. "Morning Erskine." The elder walked towards Autumn and kissed her forehead before picking up his tea.

"Um… It's actually the after-noon." Erskine added before watching him warily. "You seem… Happy."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ghastly nudged Autumn and she smiled brightly before sipping her tea.

"Uh I don't know…. Well we actually have matter's to discuss so if you would like to, you know… come with me then we can sort it all out." The grand mage got a little flustered and Autumn walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You _really_ need to chill out." She paused and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I'll distract him, you run." She pulled away to see him grinning.

"Good idea." He whispered back and Autumn turned and wandered back to Ghastly, who was currently glaring at Ravel.

"Anyway… If you wait outside I will be with momentarily." The elder narrowed his eyes and Ravel nodded and walked passed Autumn and winked.

"I'm sure I will see you soon." He whispered to her and Ghastly began shoving him from the room.

"Yes. Okay. Bye Erskine!" The elder pushed him out the room and slammed the door in his face and turned to look at her. "You two seem cosy."

Autumn raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "We were just having a little fun, nothing to worry about." She smiled softly and she heard him scoff. After a few seconds of silence he walked past her and picked up a large box and handed it to her.

"This is a little something I made; I thought you might need it." He smiled and she sat down, placing the box on her lap while she lifted the lid. Inside contained the most beautiful clothes she has ever seen, the jacket was gorgeous – it was made out of a strange material and it was pitch black. It had silver buttons and buckles on the sleeves and the inside lining was midnight blue made of silk. Underneath was a pair of black skinny trousers made from similar material and a dark grey baggy t-shirt.

"W-wow… Ghastly…" Autumn looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "These are amazing, thank you so much…" She stood and went on her tip toes to hug him. "You're incredible."

"Well I have some boots too, if you want them?" He chuckled and pulled away picking up a pair of black lace up boots. Autumn's jaw dropped as he gave them to her.

"You were up all night doing this? For me?"

The elder nodded and a heavy bang could be heard on the door. "Ghastly! Get your butt out here!" Erskine shouted impatiently.

"Well… I have to go, will you be okay?"

Autumn kissed his check and nodded. "I will be fine, I'm just going to have a shower and put on my new clothes." She grinned and walked over to the door and opened it, seeing Erskine sorting his hair out. "Stop fussing you look fine…" She laughed as he shifted, he did amuse her.

"Right well… I will be back later to check on you okay?" The elder picked up his robe and put it on, walking past her and into the corridor.

"I will be _fine_. Go." The two men nodded and reluctantly walked away.

* * *

Skulduggery and Valkyrie was at that warehouse for hours last night. Ruess was good, better than good in fact, he left no trace that he was here – nothing the detective could find that would lead to Ruess's current location. Valkyrie was exhausted and all she wanted to do was have a shower and go to bed.

"Skulduggery, we have walked around here for hours. The sun is up… Can we _please_ go now?" She moaned, scuffing her boots on the ground with boredom.

"Were detectives Valkyrie, the whole point of being here is to _detect_ things." The skeleton stated, before straightening. "Well I guess we have found our match, he cleaned up the place leaving no trace… of anything not even a food wrapper."

"Oh thank god... Does that mean we can go?" Valkyrie walked over to him and he nodded. When they got to the Bentley he stopped and stood there for a moment.

"After we go check on Autumn, we will visit China – maybe she knows something about this Ruess character."

"Yes fine, but I'm taking a shower at first."

* * *

Autumn just got out the shower when there was a knock at the door; quickly she wrapped a towel round herself and walked to the door, opening it to see Skulduggery and Valkyrie standing there.

"Hey… Val you look exhausted…"

"I only had time for a shower… I haven't had time to sleep." Valkyrie walked in and Skulduggery followed.

"Oh stop being so dramatic. Have a power nap and you will feel fresh as daises." The detective looked at Autumn and took off his coat. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine… Tried using my power and I burnt Ghastly's carpet… Don't tell him." She smiled nervously and tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. Valkyrie was currently lying on the sofa, drifting to sleep.

"You burnt his carpet… How?" Skulduggery crossed his arms and shut the door, leaning on an arm of a chair.

"Oh I tried making a fire ball but instead the fire engulfed my hand and I tried shaking it to put it out but it just sorta… caught fire…"

Skulduggery couldn't help but laugh at that. "Why don't you let me and Ghastly help you. Just in case you turn the whole building to ashes."

Autumn nodded slowly and she looked at him and bit her lip slightly. "So if I want to evaporate the water on my right now, how would I do that…?"

Skulduggery tilted his head and looked at her. "Well you manipulate the water, but I suppose you could try using the fire to dry yourself. Instead of conjuring the actual flame, just conjure the heat and project it."

"Right…. Okay I think I understand."

"Try it. I will be here to put out any fires." He said with a smile in his voice.

Autumn nodded and shut her eyes and focused on the heat, she imagined projecting it from her self – imagined turning the water on her skin to steam. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and began to push out a wave of heat. Slowly her skin dried and as did her hair.

"Well done, you perfected that skill quicker than Valkyrie did." He turned and walked to a chair and sat on it.

"If you would excuse me for a minute…" She smiled, happy with herself and walked to the bathroom to change, returning back into the room in her brand new outfit. "How do I look?"

The detective looked at her for a moment before speaking. "Ravishing." Autumn chuckled and looked at Valkyrie.

"So what's your for plan today? Any news on Ruess?" She looked at him and pushed back the bad memories, she just wanted this man gone – out of her life.

"Nothing, he is a clever man. Well not as smart as me obviously but we don't need to go into that. When Valkyrie wakes up, we will take a short visit to see China – she may have some information we need." The detective shoved his partner with his foot and she groaned, shoved his leg back and rolled over to fall back to sleep again. "Magnificent isn't she?"

Autumn couldn't help but laugh – Skulduggery was sarcastic and funny all the time, sometimes it would be irritating but right now, it was just what she needed.

Autumn managed to worm her way into coming on the trip to China's library, she sat in the back seat of the Bentley and watched the world blur by the window. Eventually they arrived at a rather run down estate, stopping outside a large apartment building. It towered over them and looked like it would topple over at any moment.

"This is where China lives?" she asked looking at Valkyrie.

"Yeah… It surprised me too when I first came here. Don't worry though, the inside is better." Valkyrie smiled and walked beside the detective.

"Is it safe to leave the car here?" Autumn asked walking after them.

"Why? What's wrong with parking it there?" Skulduggery questioned while looking at her.

"Well… what if someone steals it."

"It has a car alarm Autumn." He said tilting his head.

"There's nothing else to like... Protect it?" She asked and he sighed.

"No it's a pretty good car alarm."

She nodded and followed them into the building. When they finally got to the floor China lived on she noticed the difference. This floor wasn't stained with graffiti and it didn't reek of damp, this floor was clean and tidy. As they walked to the library Autumn heard a struggle on the inside and she tried unlocking the door but it wouldn't budge. "Skulduggery… Something doesn't sound right…" her voice was quiet and shaky.

"No it doesn't…" He kicked down the door and Valkyrie and Autumn stepped in behind him. China was surrounded by two large looking men, Ruess was about to strike her until he turned and saw her.

"Oh crap…" Autumn whispered, Skulduggery turned and shouted to Valkyrie while he whipped out his revolver in a blink of an eye.

"Get her out of here!" he ordered and Valkyrie turned and grabbed her wrist hauling her from the room. But before she exited Autumn got a glimpse of the girl she saw yesterday, Aqua, being forced against a wall with a strong hand wrapped round her throat and fear in her eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**ElenreailSparks: **Hewro! :D I'm sorry! Hehe I wanted something exciting to happen and the best way to end the chapter would be a cliff hanger! Haha I giggled at myself when I was writing that part about Skulduggery, I thought I had to throw some more humor in there XD Yeah! I remember Valkyrie mentioning the car alarm in the first book so I thought I would do something familiar. Thank you for reviewing! It means a lot :D Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! :D

**Sarah Carter:** Hello you ;) Thank you - I'm glad your enjoying it! ;) I love you 5Ever too! Enjoy the chapter!

**Shadowdawn199: **WELCOME! Hello new reviewer! Thank's so much for reviewing! :D Awwwww thank you! I don't know where I get my ideas, they just... come to me I guess xD I'm glad you like it! Enjoy this chapter! :D

**Skippy: **Another new reviewer! WELCOME! :D Hahaha yes - I didn't want to write the whole word but yeah, he was xD Aw thank you! I'm glad your enjoying it! It makes me happy! ^_^ Here's the next chapter! :) Thanks for reviewing :)

* * *

**Chapter 15.**

Valkyrie grabbed her wrist but Autumn wouldn't budge. Ruess was storming towards her and Skulduggery was too busy dealing with the infected to intervene.

"What are you doing!? Come on!" Valkyrie pulled her and Autumn just watched the innocent girl dying because of her. This wasn't right… Aqua, China – they didn't deserve to be treated like this; they didn't need to be dragged into her problems, too many people have died because of her and she would be damned if she was added two more names to that list.

"No…" Autumn snatched her hand away and turned walking into the room. Ruess was standing a few meters ahead of her, his fists clenched – anger in his eyes. This wasn't going to be easy, there were too many obstacles in the way of her and Aqua, she couldn't fight all of them. Her legs were shaking and she had to duck as Skulduggery was thrown over her head and into Valkyrie, "Great" she thought. In attempt to create a plan, she looked around and an idea popped into her head, it was like she just thought – it was an _obstacle_ course, she's done loads of them. The girl was beginning to go blue now and Autumn kicked her ass into gear, after a deep breath she ran forward straight towards Ruess who began running too, when he jumped went on her knees and slid underneath him ducking under his grabs. Skulduggery was muttering something and she saw a blast of orange heat and a whip of black shadows.

Behind her Ruess was scrambling to his feet and so was she, China was now helping Skulduggery and Valkyrie with the infected and Autumn just ran and planted a foot on a desk and leaped, Aqua was thrown into a bookcase just as she collided with the monster. The man fell backwards and snarled, Autumn landed in a roll and came up into a crouch – her eyes locking with the beast.

"We can make this easier on you… Why don't you just admit you have lost?" Ruess was standing beside the vampire now, his eyes narrowed and she straightened.

"The game isn't over yet." Autumn moved her gaze to Aqua who was beginning to scramble slowly from the pile of books that had fallen on her. She looked like she was in pain, a few broken ribs maybe – she couldn't tell from here. Ruess caught her line of sight and tilted his head.

"You're trying to protect _her?_ You can't even protect _yourself_." Ruess scoffed and walked over to Aqua grabbing her by the throat and dragging her across the floor, stopping to throw her at the vampires feet.

"Don't… You…Dare." Autumn forgot about everything, the struggle in the room – the need to escape, even the man trying to kidnap her. All she focused on was keeping that innocent girl alive.

"Snap her neck." The vampire didn't even have a chance to move, Autumn charged forward and collided with him, taking him off the ground. Shadows whipped around her and she swung her arm back in frustration and a wave of darkness slammed into Ruess, throwing his backwards into a table which buckled underneath the force.

Autumn started punching the vampire in the face, the shadows had retracted now and she was using her rage to fuel her attacks. "I always thought vampires were cute… Twilight couldn't have been more wrong! You don't even _sparkle_!" She pulled back her arm to punch him again but he planted a hand on her chest and pushed her causing her to hurtle backwards, for a moment she felt weightless until she crashed into a bookcase. Normally she would have been writhing in pain but her new jacket seemed to absorb all the impact, Ghastly. Autumn sighed, pushed the broken shelves off her and stood, trying not to stand on the books. As she stepped out of the rubble, Ruess tackled her to the ground and pinned her there, Skulduggery and Valkyrie were storming over – China was wandering over behind them, she was angry she could see it in her face from here.

"You will not escape me again. I will find you and when I do… I don't care what the Baron says… I will hurt you. When he gets here with Nefarian… there won't be a lot left of you to play with." Ruess growled and punched her in the face so hard she saw stars, for a few seconds her eyes were out of focus but she saw a blue wave of energy hit Ruess and throw him off her, coincidently towards the door. Skulduggery went to run after him but she called out to him, shaking her head.

"No… Don't bother…" Valkyrie helped her to her feet and Autumn placed a hand on her cheek and flinched. That was a good hit, right on the cheek bone. Around her, the library was a complete state, books where sprawled across the floors and tables, some bookcases were either broken or about to crumple and the walls were cracked where someone had been thrown into them. The infected had left with Ruess and Autumn turned and looked at Aqua.

"Are you okay…?"

The blonde girl nodded slowly and forced a shaky smile. "I will be fine… Thank you for saving me… I really thought I was going to die…" Autumn gazed at her and looked around at everyone.

"This is all my fault… I shouldn't have gotten you all involved. Now you're all in danger because of me…"

Skulduggery shook his head and crossed his arms. "Don't blame yourself Autumn, if it wasn't for you Aqua would be dead right now."

"I still got them into this mess Skulduggery, me nobody else. China, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you and I guess my first impression wasn't the best… I'm sorry for what happened to your Library I didn't mean…"

China stood there, her hair as dark as raven feathers framed her face perfectly. Her pale blue eyes gazed at her and she looked at Skulduggery for a moment before replying. "Well I can let this pass as you did save Aqua's life and aid in the safety of mine."

Autumn forced a smile and attempted to walk forward and out the library but the detective stood in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What did he say to you Autumn?"

The girl just gazed up at him and shifted slightly. "He said that when he gets his hands on me, he wasn't going to listen to…" she paused trying to think. "To the Baron, and then he said something about Nefarian."

Everyone went silent and Autumn just stood there, nerves building up inside of her like lava in a volcano. "What… Why has everyone gone quiet… that's never a good sign."

"Are you sure he said Baron and Nefarian?" The detective gazed down at her now; she heard the urgency in his voice.

"Yes… Can someone tell me what's going on? Who are they?"

Aqua moved to China's side, her arm clutched her side. Valkyrie stepped forward, talking to Skulduggery. "It's not possible… They're both dead…"

"Autumn, this is important – did he say anything to you? Before today?" Skulduggery had both hands on her shoulders now, he was scaring her now.

"I… I don't know…"

"Think!"

Autumn flinched when he raised his voice and she looked up at him. "He said something about another dimension… That I was going to destroy it and people were coming over to stop me…" Skulduggery dropped his arms and grabbed her wrist, dragging her from the room.

"This isn't good. Not good at all, we need to talk to Ravel."

Valkyrie followed and apologised to China and Aqua for the trouble before rushing out after them.

* * *

The journey back to Roarhaven was silent, nobody spoke and Autumn just sat in the back of the car. Her cheek was really beginning to hurt now and she saw a large deep purple bruise on her cheek bone that was slowly creeping it's way up to her eye. God Ghastly's going to freak. When the Bentley's engine cut off, Skulduggery and Valkyrie left the car without speaking – this was not making her feel good about the whole situation. When she got out, she shut the door gently and Skulduggery locked the car, taking her wrist again and walking into the Sanctuary. She was beginning to feel like a prisoner.

"Skulduggery… Can we just stop and talk about this for a second…?" Autumn gazed at him but he ignored her and carried on walking, barging past the administrator who was trying to stop them from entering the grand hall. Valkyrie pushed him to the side and whispered something to him, mentioning the urgency without giving away any of the important details. The detective manipulated the air to push open the large doors and walked in with Autumn who was struggling to keep up.

"Skulduggery… What are you doing?" Ghastly turned and narrowed his eyes.

"We have a problem Ghastly. Where's Erskine?" The detective let her go and she rubbed her wrist, letting her hair fall across her face to hide the bruise.

The elder just looked at him for a moment and Erskine entered the room, his robe sweeping gracefully behind him. "What's happened Skulduggery?"

The detective turned and Valkyrie stood beside him. "We have reason to believe Nefarian Serpine and Baron Vengeous are planning a return."

An eerie silence filled the room and it made Autumn feel like she should crawl up and cry in a corner.

"Don't be so preposterous. There dead, you killed one of them and Valkyrie saw the other die." Ravel just gazed at him, standing beside Ghastly.

"Where did you get this idea Skulduggery?" Elder Bespoke asked before the skeleton turned his gaze onto Autumn.

"Ruess told her, Autumn would you care to tell the grand mage what he said to you?"

For a moment she was lost for words, she didn't know what to say – her mind just wouldn't obey her and no sound left her lips but a simple stutter.

"Autumn…?" Ravel said before walking towards her, stopping to gaze down at her. "You can tell us, you won't get in trouble."

"I… I was told… By Ruess…" She paused as Ghastly wandered over to her. Everyone was watching her now, Valkyrie, Skulduggery, Ghastly and Erskine… This was too much pressure, why couldn't Skulduggery explain they weren't going to believe her. "That I was going to destroy… another dimension."

Erskine raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Another dimension?"

Autumn nodded and resumed. "Yes… And just a moment ago when we went to see China, Ruess was there and he had me pinned to the ground…" She saw Ghastly immediately tense up in anger, but she carried on – she just needed to finish this sentence and it would be over. She hoped. "He said to me that he would hurt me and that he didn't care what Baron said. He then moved onto more violent threats and mentioned a person called Nefarian…"

Everyone was silent again and it made her feel sick, a headache was building and her cheek throbbed. Autumn let her gaze drop and Erskine just stared at her.

"Are you _sure_ that's what he said?"

She nodded and the grand mage sighed, rubbing his eyes. "We don't even know when they will get here, or even if they can get here?"

The detective removed his hat and brushed off imaginary dust on the rim before putting it back on. "Do you remember when Valkyrie was shunted into the other dimension? Because of Nadir?" The two elders nodded and he resumed. "Well I'm guessing that's how they get here, if Autumn Is going to destroy this other dimension then it would be that one."

Autumn stood there in silence as they discussed the situation and she sat on the floor, crossing her legs before putting her head in her hands. She didn't want to add more worry by mentioning they would be here within the next week. For a few moments she was on her own, blocking out the discussions and noise. She didn't want this, she didn't want any of this – all she wanted to do was settle down and live her life in the _normal_ world, not this one. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she lifted her head to see Ghastly kneeling down in front of her.

"Are you ok?" She could see the worry in his eyes and when she nodded the worry switched to anger. "What… Happened to your cheek…?"

Autumn's eyes widened and she brought her hand up to hide the bruise. "Nothing… It's nothing…"

"That doesn't look like nothing Autumn." Ghastly pulled her hand away and placed his hands on either side of her face, studying the bruise.

"Did Ruess do this?" She nodded and Ghastly pulled her into an unexpected embrace. "When I get my hands on him… I'm going to _kill_ him."

"Get in the line…" she muttered into his shoulder, she didn't know how much she wanted a hug until he gave her one. She was so scared and the way everyone was behaving didn't exactly give her a confidence boost. Slowly she pulled away and Ghastly stroked her cheek gently with his thumb before tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Ghastly… How much danger am I in…"

The elder didn't speak for a moment; he just sighed and looked at her. "I don't want you to worry…"

"Just tell me… Give it to me straight… How much danger am I in…?" She hadn't noticed everyone go quiet until now; the silence answered her question and she nodded slowly, letting her gaze fall to the floor.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**Sarah Carter:**Hahaha aww you cutie! It's annoying isn't it! ;) I know, strangling is mean they just couldn't leave her alone hehe. Thanks bubby! Heres the next chapter! Love you 5Ever! :) xxx

**SaUr**: Hello new reviewer! Thank's for reviewing! :) Thank you! That makes me happy that you think so! Yeah, I struggled with writing that day and I totally agree, the 'ass in to gear' thing wasn't the best thing to write. I hope this chapter is better, and I hope you enjoy it! Thank you! :D

* * *

**Chapter 16.**

Ruess paced the space where a living room would have been. Dusk was stood in the darkest corner, the shadows accentuating his already sharp features; after a moment of watching the man worry like an idiot, he stepped out, his pale skin grey in the dull light.

"Mr Ruess, we need to do something about the detectives. I have dealt with Valkyrie Cain before and she isn't one to be underestimated."

Ruess didn't flinch at his approach, but his face hardened, his lips thin as his eyes fixed on the vampire standing before him. For a brief second all anyone could hear was the howling wind blowing down the chimney, the creaking floor boards and a deep angry sigh leaving Marcus's lips. "This isn't how I wanted things to go, Baron and Nefarian will be arriving in two days and we have nothing prepared!" Ruess kicked the small chair into a wall, causing the wood to crack and land in an awkward heap.

"We expected thing's to go wrong, we never said it was going to be easy. The child does _destroy_ another dimension after all." Dusk stood there in a bubble of calm, the sun was disappearing beneath the horizon and his body tensed with the sudden urge to change. Hastily he removed a needle containing the serum he had manufactured for his own use and plunged it into his arm; his body instantly relaxing as the liquid spread through him.

"We never expected it to be _difficult _either! We never thought the girl would team up with the skeleton!" Ruess began to pace again, he fists clenched so tightly the skin around the knuckles turned white. "What we need to do is separate them… Create a diversion…" Rather abruptly he turned, pointing a finger at the vampire. "You and half you're men need to follow the detectives until their alone. When they are, strike and I will move in with the other group and grab her, take some hollow men if you must."

Dusk gazed at him and bowed his head slightly. "What will you have me do?"

Ruess thought for a moment and a smug evil smile spread across his face. "Start killing the mortals."

* * *

Autumn was taken to see Nye while Skulduggery and the elders had an _important_ meeting. Valkyrie was walking beside her perfectly calm, whenever she walked down these halls a cold shiver spread through her; she wasn't sure if it was the scarily still Cleavers or the general temperature of the place, either way she was glad she wasn't alone.

"Valkyrie…" Her voice was quiet as she struggled to conjure the courage to speak.

"Mmm?" Valkyrie turned her head slightly, gazing at her as she walked.

"Nobody answered my question in there… How dangerous are these guys? Nefarian and Baron…?"

All she could hear were their footsteps until Valkyrie cleared her throat slightly before speaking. "Well, Nefarian isn't the easiest man to like. The thing you really want to worry about is his skinless red hand… Oh and his insanity, he isn't quite right in the head if you know what I mean."

"Skinless… Red hand?" Autumn raised an eyebrow, nerves boiling inside her. She didn't have a clue what she meant; she has never met a crazy man before.

"Serpine has a skinless red hand that causes agonizing pain to anyone he points at." She paused, she didn't want to carry on but she had started now and Autumn needed to know at some point. "After a few long, painful moments you die."

Autumn swallowed deeply, this didn't sound like fun at all. Valkyrie strolled into the medical bay, Autumn following behind her, letting the door shut. Nye turned slowly as it put down a scalpel to see who entered. "What have you done now?" It asked, it's gaze locked onto Autumn.

"I… Uh have a sore cheek…" she said quietly, pulling her red hair off her face to reveal a dark purple bruise.

Nye sighed deeply and shook his head before removing a leaf from a box and handed it to her. "Chew this; it will deal with the pain."

Autumn did as she was told and started to chew, the pain instantly fading. While Nye prepared a muddy brown concoction, Valkyrie continued with their conversation. "Baron is a little more… Organised I guess. He can animate and inanimate objects and rupture them by simply glancing at them while his eyes turn yellow… So yeah, might want to watch out for that one. He is also extremely skilled in close quarter combat so try and fight him when there's some space between you."

"Space… How can I fight him if there's space between us? I can't punch him from ten meters away…" She was worried now; these men didn't seem the kind of people who went easy on someone who was going to destroy their world.

"Well, if we train you to control your power then you could have a fighting chance."

"_Could?_ That doesn't fill me with confidence Val…"

Valkyrie waited until Nye put some brown cream on her face. "Leave that on for a few minutes and the bruise will be gone." The creature walked away and the two of them sat on a bed, crossing their legs beneath them.

"Well you just need to have confidence in yourself, things are never easy but I will try and be by your side every step of the way." Valkyrie smiled and Autumn forced a grin, some cream falling in her mouth.

"Eww! Eugh!" Immediately she spat it out, wiping her tongue with her sleeve. Val was finding it hilarious, she could see the tears about to escape and stream down her cheeks. "That. Was. Gross." Autumn screwed up her nose and looked at her, bursting into laughter. She didn't know why she was laughing, it was hardly an appropriate time but she couldn't help it, it was one of those moments you can't help but laugh at.

"Sorry… I shouldn't be laughing but your face was brilliant." Valkyrie smiled and nudged her as Nye walked into the room and gestured to the sink.

"There's a towel by the sink, wash the cream off and the bruise should be as good as gone." Before she could thank it, the creature strolled away – slumping down in a seat to continue it's work.

"It's not a sociable creature is it?" Autumn said as she wandered over to the sink, letting the water run for a moment before cupping her hands under the stream and splashing her face. The water felt good against the skin, normally she would have had it warm but the cold temperature focused her mind, reminding her that this was all really happening.

"Not really no; it's not one to sit down and have a chat over tea." Valkyrie stood next to her and handed her a soft towel so she could dry her face.

"Do you think the meeting has ended yet?" Autumn lifted her sapphire gaze to see her shrug.

"I'm not sure; we might as well have a look." The dark haired girl smiled and turned walking away from her, Autumn quickly finished drying her face and folded the towel; walking swiftly after her.

* * *

Skulduggery was sat at a large table that was placed tidily in the corner of the room. Ghastly and Erskine was sat opposite him as he sat up right in his seat.

"We can't allow this to happen. Vengeous and Serpine cannot be allowed to run free in this dimension, it was bad enough having them the first time, I don't want to deal with them again." The detective gazed at the two Sanctuary figures, his voice calm.

"That's not what we should be worrying about! Their coming back to this world to _kill _Autumn. We can't allow that to happen, I just got her back!" Ghastly's fist's clenched and Skulduggery tilted his head.

"Skulduggery has a point Ghastly, their after one being and it's our job as members of this sanctuary to keep the citizens of Ireland safe…"

Ghastly turned on his chair and narrowed his eyes. "We know what their after, we have to protect the one thing that can stop them from doing what they want."

"Actually, if you recall Ghastly – Baron isn't one to sit around and wait until Autumn is handed over on a silver platter. He will hunt her down and with the help of Nefarian, Dusk and Ruess it's going to be easy." Skulduggery leaned forward and crossed his arms, balancing himself on the table. "Ruess knows where she is; we need to move her to a secure location before dealing with Serpine and Vengeous. Once she is out of the way, _then_ and only then can we deal with the main issue."

Erskine nodded in agreement and looked at his fellow elder, waiting for confirmation. "I want to stay with her; I'm not letting her out of my sight again… I need to be the one to protect her."

Skulduggery looked at Ravel and shrugged. "Sound's reasonable to me Erskine; I don't see what harm it would do?"

The grand mage nodded and Ghastly let out a sigh of relief, smiling slightly at the two of them. "Now we have solved that issue, how do we stop Serpine and Vengeous?"

The three of them sat there in deep thought for a while, Skulduggery knew they were waiting for him to come up with some brilliant plan but he didn't have one. He didn't even know where or when they will arrive so if he made a plan then it could change with any of the information he gathers.

Outside the door they heard Autumn and Valkyrie approach, they were laughing at something and the three men gazed at each other shrugging. _Girls _he thought.

Valkyrie walked in first and Autumn followed hot on her heels, Ghastly gazed up at her to see the bruise fading quite nicely.

"Autumn, can I ask you something?" The Grand mage stood and Autumn looked slightly worried, she tried hiding it but no amount of laughter was going to make the situation they were in go away.

"Um… Okay."

Ravel walked around the table and pulled out a chair, which she took gratefully. "Do you have any idea of when Baron will be planning his return?" Erskine was leaning against the table now, his arms crossed against his chest.

Autumn felt the colour drain from her face and her throat closed up, stopping her from speaking again. After a deep, unsteady breath she nodded slowly and turned to face everyone else in the room.

"Well… Ruess mentioned that… They would arrive…" she coughed and rubbed the back of her neck nervously. Skulduggery was gazing right at her and she knew that what she was about to say next would cause panic and destruction. "Within the next week…"


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer**** in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**Sarah Carter: **Mwahahaha I'm sowweh, I had to keep you interested ;) I'm glad you enjoyed it, here's the next chapter! And Ruess will, soon I promise! XD Love you 5Ever too! xxxxxxx

**Shadowdawn199: **Hewro! :D Yay! *dances with you* Ah the cliff hanger, I love them - makes the next chapter more interesting ;) Well I think anyway. Aw I'm glad someone did haha. And I completely forgot about Skulduggery hating China! *facepalm* I guess he would go there to ask something anyway, I hope... XD Aw thanks! It just came to me one day and I was like... Autumn... Strife... DONE! :D Enjoy the next chapter! :D

* * *

**Chapter 17.**

Autumn really put her foot in it didn't she. Ghastly's face had dropped, Erskine had grown awfully pale and Valkyrie just raised an eyebrow – she didn't have a clue what Skulduggery was feeling right now, he didn't have a face; slightly annoying in these situations.

"Within the next…week…?" Ghastly gazed at her, his eye brow furrowed which caused his scars to wrinkle.

"Yes… That's what he said, I didn't want to tell you but—"

"Why didn't you want to tell us? Could you imagine how much danger you would have put people in?!" Skulduggery stood, his voice no longer soft and smooth, it was more harsh and bitter.

"I… I didn't want to worry anyone…" Autumn shuffled in her seat, she really just wanted to run out of here right now, perhaps cry into a pillow.

"You're very naïve Autumn, you should have told us!" Erskine joined in now and she was sandwiched in between the two of them. Autumn looked up slowly to see Ghastly looking at her, he was scared, worried she could tell – this was her fault, they wanted her nobody else. Perhaps if she just handed herself to them then their worries would go away.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" As she stood, she looked around at everyone, Valkyrie just watched her, she didn't seem angry – in some ways she just thought it was because she could understand where she was coming from, but perhaps not. Autumn turned and began to walk from the room and Ghastly called out to her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Autumn didn't look back, she just carried on walking, her hands stuffed deeply in her jacket pockets. "For a walk."

* * *

Marcus Ruess was in Roarhaven, stood opposite the Sanctuary hidden in the shadows of an alley way. Dusk should be causing a diversion any moment now and hopefully he will see Skulduggery and Valkyrie running to get to the scene, forgetting about the need to protect the girl.

To his surprise Autumn strolled out the Sanctuary on her own, unaccompanied by any authority figure, Cleaver or sorcerer. Would it really be this easy? Ruess looked over his shoulder and saw five of the ten infected, they were so still it even gave him the freaks. "Wait until I give you an order, whatever you do – keep the girl _alive_." The infected nodded and disappeared, three were on the ground concealed in the shadows and the other two were standing on the roof tops, they resembled gargoyles.

Autumn walked forward, her head down as she kicked small stones across the pavement. She didn't look happy, perfect for him as her judgement would be clouded with whatever was on her mind. Ruess waited till she was far enough from the sanctuary to strike, just as he was about to step out the skeleton detective and his accomplice ran out the building and straight to the Bentley, they didn't even notice the girl. His plan was working perfectly, better than he hoped actually – he was going to storm into the sanctuary but it seems she came to him instead. Now the Bentley was out of sight, Marcus walked towards her, she was slumped against a tree now – her eyes shut as she breathed in and out deeply. Swiftly he raised his hand and the three infected moved in, surrounding her. She hadn't even noticed yet, they were that quiet.

The sun was had just set and the town was thrust into twilight. Ruess strolled over, standing tall – When he stopped to stand in front of her he waved another hand to signal the remaining infected to get the van. "Family troubles? Oh… That's right I_ killed_ your family."

Autumn looked up and her eye's widened and she quickly scrambled to her feet. There was no point in saying anything, he wasn't going to sympathise with her, Ruess wasn't one to let a grudge go because he had been sweet talked. The infected watched her and Marcus grabbed her throat and slammed her against the tree, lifting her off the ground.

"I told you the next time I see you, I would hurt you." His eyes narrowed and his grip tightened, he did enjoy the sight of her squirm in fear, it filled him with joy and happiness.

"Please…" Her voice was merely a croak; her face was turning pink now with the added pressure and lack of oxygen.

"Shut up! You're _not_ escaping me again!" With his free hand he punched her in the stomach with all his strength. Normally that would have caused a cry out in pain, coughing blood and extreme agony but she didn't even move, as if she didn't even feel it.

Autumn had her hands on his wrists now, her eyes vision was fading and her lungs burned with the lack of oxygen. Ruess was examining her jacket and he smiled, and looked up at her.

"Of course… The tailor made you some new clothes." He was angry now and he threw her to the ground, the impact would have caused her to moan but when she hit the ground she just coughed, gasping for air. The infected was on her now, pinning her to the ground as Ruess removed her jacket, studied it before throwing it in the dirt beside her. "We won't have need for that."

Autumn struggled out of their grip as the infected lifted her off her feet, her arms behind her back. In the distance she heard a rumble of an engine, was Skulduggery back so soon? Her question was answered when she saw the same black van stop on the road beside them. "Oh no…" She thought.

Just as she was about to speak Ruess punched her in the stomach again and she felt every inch of it, her body hunched forward as the air left her, it felt like, in her opinion that she had been hit by a truck that was moving at 80mph. It left her speechless as the infected dragged her to the van, this time Ruess sat in the back with her and the infected drove, two were in the front three in the back.

Autumn looked back to see her jacket lying in the dirt and she looked down sadly; Ghastly won't even know she was missing until later on. The van door shut and she was stuck in a confined space with a raging lunatic and three blood thirsty infected.

* * *

Skulduggery and Valkyrie arrived at the scene, the Bentley skidding to a halt. Quickly they ran out and saw the infected and Dusk killing and injuring innocent mortals. For a moment they just stood there in complete surprise until they ran head first into the battle, Valkyrie whipped her shadows and manipulated the air and Skulduggery fired shots from his revolver while throwing fire.

Dusk needed to do this until he got a call from Ruess, then they would disappear and leave Cain and the detective in a pool of blood. The thought brought a smile to his face as he leaped on a middle aged woman and pinned her to the ground, just as he was about to plunge his teeth into her slightly wrinkled neck Skulduggery splayed his hand and a wave of air took him off his meal and across the floor.

"Sorry, human is off tonight's menu." The detective aimed his gun right at Dusk and the vampire stood and dusted off his jacket.

"Well, that is a shame. How are you Detective, still running around trying to repent your sins?"

Valkyrie narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "What are you doing Dusk? This isn't your style."

The vampire grinned, dark red blood drying on his pale chin. "On the contrary, I am starting to think that this is the right style to take. It's been some time since I had a _really_ good snack."

Skulduggery cocked his gun and looked at Dusk. "So your back to your old ways of following other's orders. In some ways, that makes you a pet."

Just as Dusk was going to retaliate, his phone rang and he held up one finger. "Excuse me one moment." The other infected had stopped now and were ready to disappear. "Yes? Mhm, I understand. I will be with you shortly." The vampire put his phone away and licked his lips. "I'm afraid our time here is up. I have done what needed to be done and now I will be wishing you a good day. Fare well." Dusk bowed and just as Skulduggery fired, he was gone, the infected left with him.

"What was that about… And what do we do about this?" Valkyrie turned and saw around fifteen people lying dead in their own blood, Cleavers were beginning to arrive on the scene and the Detective sighed and put away his gun.

"Something doesn't feel right; Dusk isn't one to draw attention to himself." Skulduggery walked to the over to the Cleavers as some sorcerers arrived and gave some orders before strolling back over to Valkyrie.

"Maybe he was distracting us from something?" Valkyrie muttered before Skulduggery stopped and tilted his head, turned and walked quickly over to the Bentley. Valkyrie ran over, careful to not stand in blood or on the dead. Skulduggery was already in the car, starting up the engine; quickly she slid in and shut the door, turning to look at him.

"You're not implying what I think you're implying are you?" She looked at him and Skulduggery began to drive, his head forward.

"The only way they would even get _close_ to Autumn would be to get us out of the picture. So Dusk was ordered to create a diversion so she would be left unprotected."

"That doesn't make any sense, what would he do? He couldn't walk into the Sanctuary the Cleavers would take off his head before he got close to her."

The detective sighed and his boned fingers tightened around the steering wheel. "I think I may have made it easier for Ruess to get hold of her…"

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow and turned slightly in her seat, the leather squeaking. "What do you mean_, easier_?"

"I shouted at her, so did Erskine and she then went for a walk _outside_ the Sanctuary where she couldn't be protected."

Valkyrie's eyes widened and she noticed the speed they were traveling at. They were in the countryside now, speeding down a narrow road that led to Roarhaven.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer in chapter one.**

**Reviews:**

**Sarah** **Carter**: Pahahaha Sarah you do make me chuckle! I agree, anger management classes would be perfect, though I fear he would end up killing everyone in them... Awkward. Aww thanks bubby! Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it! :D Love you 5Ever too! xxxx

**Shadowdawn199**: I know! He is so stupid for someone who says he is ALWAYS right! xD What a idiot ;) Yeah! That's a good idea, I might do that as Skulduggery might need China's help soon to deal with Baron and Nefarian :)

* * *

**Chapter 18.**

Ghastly sat in the hall, his fingers tapping nervously against the table. Erskine Ravel was currently scribbling down notes – trying to figure out a plan on what to do about Vengeous and Serpine and as for Skulduggery and Valkyrie, they were on their way back. A few minutes ago, Skulduggery called and Erskine said he sounded a little odd on the phone, asking strange questions about Autumn's whereabouts.

Obviously she hadn't come back yet but even as a small child Autumn was always one to sulk when she got yelled at, Ghastly just presumed that she would come back when she was ready and because it's been 25 minutes without hearing anything, he was beginning to feel worried.

"Erskine… I'm going to look for Autumn."

"Yes, fine. Don't be long we have to discuss our plans with Skulduggery when he returns." Ravel didn't look up from his work; his attention was focused on the piece of paper in front of him and not on the girl who missed out a piece of key information they could have found out sooner.

The elder nodded and strolled out the room, asking one of the sorcerers who was walking away from the exit if he had seen Autumn.

"Yeah, she's outside. When you exit, just turn left and she should be down the road by a tree." The sorcerer smiled and walked away from him, resuming his work before Ghastly had the chance to thank him. For a moment he stood there, watching him walk away with curiosity before walking to the exit, stepping into a bitter chill.

"Autumn?!" He called, turning left as suggested. When she didn't reply he sighed and carried on walking, the street lights were now illuminating the town in an orange glow and as he got closer to the where he was told she was located, he began to worry. Ghastly couldn't see anyone, no vague outline of a person, no silhouette of a girl sitting against a tree. His pace slowed at a black shape caught his attention, to lighten the area he clicked his fingers, conjuring a flame and letting it grow before walking forward. At first there was nothing, just some footprints and long scraps in the dirt like something had been dragged. When he got closer he held out his hand, letting the fire brighten the dark shape. At first he thought it was nothing and when he went to pick it up he saw what it really was.

"Damn it!" Ghastly gripped her jacket tightly in his hand and stormed back to the sanctuary, waiting outside for Skulduggery to arrive.

* * *

Autumn sat with her legs to her chest, while she was in the van Ruess had bound her powers by putting handcuffs on her, which were a little _too_ tight for her liking. The journey was bumpy and she actually lost count on how many times she left the floor of the van and smacked her head on the side, before toppling awkwardly into the infected or Ruess himself. The man really needed to shower more, or use deodorant... _or_ maybe febreze - that would work too.

"If it was up to me, I would have just killed you. But Baron wants you alive for some _obscure_ reason – so count yourself lucky." Ruess just gazed at her through the gloom and Autumn gazed back, blinking a few times in confusion.

"Lucky? _Lucky?!_ You're kidding right? I would have preferred to die!" Her voice was harsh; she didn't know she was so upset, so angry. She could see Ruess shuffle in his seat, she saw his fists tighten and his eyes harden – that was the wrong this to say… or the wrong tone to use.

"You… Irritate me." Was all he said, after that he kicked her in the ribs and she fell onto her back, staring at the ceiling in pain. Her jacket would have protected her, but no… he took that away from her and threw it in the dirt.

"Jerk…"

* * *

Ghastly stood outside for ten minutes until Skulduggery finally pulled up, Valkyrie got out first and then Skulduggery joined her and walked up the path towards Ghastly.

"This is your fault!" The elder shouted, if Skulduggery and Erskine didn't shout at her – she would have never left.

"I don't know what you mean." The detective was as calm as ever and Valkyrie began to feel the tension, she could see Ghastly was angry which, was never a good sign.

"Don't act like you don't know Skulduggery. Because you shouted at her, she went off and now she has been taken!" Ghastly let his head slump forward and he took a deep breath, holding back his sadness. Valkyrie never knew how strongly he felt for Autumn, she presumed it resembled the way her parents loved her, that they would do anything to keep them safe, take a bullet if they had to.

Skulduggery stood there silently, Valkyrie knew he felt bad – he said so himself on the journey over that it was his fault, but he always put up a front of how he really felt. He needed to keep his calm in these situations otherwise nothing would happen; his emotions would get in the way of his judgement.

"Skulduggery! We need to do something… I can't…" He paused, his voice shaking as if he was about to cry. She has never seen him cry before. "I can't lose her again…"

The detective looked at him and said nothing; he just pulled him into a hug and tapped his back. That was the right thing to do in this situation, hug someone. "You're not going to lose her Ghastly. We will get her back, I promise."

Valkyrie just watched, her thumbs gripping the side of the pockets. These were the times where she saw how close these two friends were, it was a good sight to see – Skulduggery wasn't one to express his emotions often but whenever he did, it was almost… heart-warming. "We need to try and find out where they are, they wouldn't have gone back to the warehouse – it's too obvious. They would have gone somewhere new…"

Skulduggery pulled away and looked at Ghastly. "I'm fine…" he muttered before straightening his waist coat and crossing his arms. "So… Any ideas?"

Skulduggery tapped his chin and thought for a moment. "Ah! Wait… no I have nothing." The three of them sighed and Ghastly walked into the sanctuary without warning – Valkyrie and Skulduggery following right behind him.

"Where are we going?!" The detective called after him.

"Research!" The elder replied and straight away he heard Valkyrie groan.

* * *

Autumn felt the van stop and Ruess wrapped his hand around her arm and tugged her to her feet.

"I swear… if you ruin any of my plans… I will _hurt_ you."

Autumn nodded as she was forced out the van, she would have fallen over if Ruess wasn't holding onto her. By the door stood two strange papery creatures, she was surprised they didn't blow away but by the looks of things – they had weights in their arms and legs. Not particularly terrifying, but neither did Ruess.

The house was quite large; it had rectangular windows which were covered on dirt and on the inside old newspaper was placed over the glass so nobody saw what was inside. The actual structure of the building was on the… unstable side. It looked like it would crumble if a small gust of wind hit it, the door was currently open and that looked like the only thing that was intact.

"Welcome to your new home." Ruess chuckled and dragged her inside. The interior of the building wasn't a huge improvement of the outside, it was covered in damp, it smelt like something had died in one of the rooms and the floorboards creaked with every step.

"Oh… Well I think it could use some colour on the walls - Perhaps some furniture…" She said sarcastically, causing her to get an elbow to the face. "Ow…" She spat out some blood and narrowed her eyes. If she could get her leg high enough to kick him in the face, maybe if she hit him hard enough so he would fall to the floor unconscious.

"Your attempts to show you don't care much for this situation is disappointing. Perhaps you will like your room better." Ruess grinned and his grip tightened, his fingernails cutting into her skin as he dragged her down some stairs into a basement. The room was disgusting, the pipes were dripping dirty water and it was freezing. As she looked around, she swallowed deeply before her eyes settled onto a single wooden chair in the centre of the room.

"It's… Lovely…" She muttered before trying to pull away from him.

"I knew you would like it." He said - his voice blunt and bitter. When she tried pulling away he pulled her into him, so she was pressing against his chest. "My dear… it _really _is a shame, I think you and I could have said something special." He grinned and his scar wrinkled. The scar started at his left eyebrow and spread across the bridge of his nose and down his right cheek – she really got him good. Shame she didn't blind him; that would have been far more amusing.

"Me and you…?" Autumn scoffed as she was pressed into him, her arms were cuffed behind her back so whenever she tried pushing him away he just pulled her back again. "That would never happen… You're a disgusting, narcissistic, _sadistic_ _pig._"

Ruess's gaze turned cold and he licked his lips, his face turning hard – angry. "I'm sorry you feel that way… Oh well, I guess it's a good thing you're going through torture then – after all I am a sadistic pig."

Autumn just watched him before turning her gaze to the bottom of the stairs, at the moment they were standing half way down, so the light from upstairs illuminated their path. "T-torture…?"

"Indeed. Not so cocky now are you." Ruess grinned and pushed her forward, at first she balanced herself but then her boots slipped and she fell down the stairs, she couldn't even stop herself. Autumn felt every bump, bang and slam. When she stopped bounding off the steps, her head slammed against the concrete and she actually saw stars. Her breathing was rough and her body ached everywhere, even her finger tips hurt. The cuffs sliced her wrists; her fall dislocated one of her shoulders and injured the other pretty badly. Her back scrapped across the sides of the steps and cut her skin, her head was bleeding in two places and her legs were so tender. She didn't think anything was broken but she couldn't even move, her body was in shock and all she wanted to do was cry.

"Well… Aren't we clumsy?" Ruess stood over her with his arms crossed; from what she could make out he was shaking his head.

"I… Hate…You…" her voice was a croak and when she spoke her chest hurt. She felt so dizzy.

"To be rather honest with you, I don't actually care." He shrugged and gripped her dislocated arm to pull her to her feet, causing her to scream. "Oh is that a little bit tender?" He tugged her arm a little and she let out another pain filled scream.

"P-please…." Autumn was crying now, her tears mixing in with the blood rolling down her face. She was on the brink of passing out, the pain was too much and her vision kept losing focus.

"You should probably sit down…" Ruess shoved her and she fell back onto the wooden chair, thankfully it didn't fall backwards or buckle. While she sat there, Ruess walked behind her and removed her Necromancy bracelet, placing it in his pocket. "You won't be needing this." He whispered into her ear before removing the handcuffs. "If you knew what was best for you, you won't move."

Autumn couldn't even move if she wanted too, her body ached and her head… her head felt like it was going to explode. As he walked in front of her, her vision blurred and she could just see him pick up some rope.

"You look dreadful." He muttered as he tied her arms and legs to the chair first. He then wrapped the rope around the back of the chair and across her chest. "We don't want you slumping forward do we? It's bad manners."

Autumn just groaned as her eyes struggled to stay open. All she wanted to do was go to sleep but he wouldn't stop talking and whenever her head rolled forward, he would poke her in the ribs.

"Well, that's all done." Ruess walked around her and wiped his hands on his trousers. Behind him she saw a silhouette of a male figure standing at the top of the stairs.

"Sir, we must prepare…" His voice was deep and familiar but she couldn't recall where she had heard it before.

"Yes I'm fully aware of that Dusk. Have you got everything I asked for?" Ruess turned and Autumn only saw the back of him, it was just as ugly as the front.

The man nodded and he gestured behind him. "Everything is up here waiting for your instructions."

Ruess glanced at her and she managed to lift her gaze up to look at him. "I will be up in a moment."

The man bowed his head slightly and disappeared, leaving the two of them alone again. "Well, I have to go but I promise you I will be down here later to see if you're still breathing."

Autumn's gaze was beginning to darken and she shook her head to stay awake. "I hope the building collapses on you…"

Ruess laughed so loudly it seemed to bounce off every wall in the room, creating an echo. "You are funny. Shall I put you out your misery?"

"E-excuse me…?" Before she could react, Ruess slammed a fist into her face, her eyes rolling back into her skull before she passed out.


End file.
